How Bizarre, How Bizarre!

Now this is what I call community policing. A man foiled his own kidnapping by crashing his pickup truck into a Unified Police Department precinct building in Salt Lake City Tuesday night, and officers soon after rescued his hostage wife at their home. The woman, who had been bound, was shaken but otherwise unharmed, UPD Lt. Don Hutson said Wednesday. Two suspects — one in the crashed truck and another arrested after he fled the victim’s home and allegedly hit in a car — were being held in Salt Lake County Jail on multiple felony counts. “This was just downright bizarre,” Hutson said. “It really was like something out of a movie.”

The drama began when two men, armed with handguns, burst into the Millcreek home of the owner of Monarch Coin in South Salt Lake and took the couple captive. One man, identified as Dashawn Hinton, 19, of Salt Lake City, allegedly took the husband at gunpoint in his truck and ordered him to drive west on 3900 South. Hutson said Wednesday that the husband allegedly was believed to have been ordered to drive first to an ATM and then to his shop at 211 E. 3900 South. However, as the victim drove near the UPD precinct at 1580 E. 3900 South, he veered the truck toward the building and rammed into it to get the officers’ attention.

Piano Men Rock Salt Lake

Last Friday night I had the pleasure of working the Elton John - Billy Joel Face to Face Tour concert at Energy Solutions Arena. While my music tastes have changed over the years for the harder side, Sir Elton and Billy put on a truly great show. I absolutely enjoyed it even though I was actually working at the time. They played for well over three hours and the parts where they performed together were awesome. It was especially poignant for me as I was supposed to attend an Elton John concert Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand in 1986 but my father died the day before. So seeing him 24 years later was something that I had always wanted. It made me remember my Dad, whom I still miss very much all these years later. Good times. (Photo courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune)