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A Salt Lake County jail inmate now faces a list of charges following a foiled escape attempt.
It happened Sunday after inmate Matthew Thompson, 20, tried to kill himself by cutting his throat. He was taken to the Intermountain Medical Center In Murray to get stitches, but it turns out this was just an elaborate plan for him to try to escape.
Thompson was already in county jail for drugs, traffic violations and a suspended license. After deputy's say he cut his own throat this past Sunday, they rushed him to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray.
His feet and hands were shackled to a belly chain, but when he requested to use the bathroom, the officer uncuffed one of his hands.
Salt Lake County Deputy Levi Hughes said, "When that took place, the prisoner reached for the officer's baton and was able to get it off his belt."
What the officer didn't know was that this was Thompson's plan to escape.
But what Thompson didn't know was that the officer was a trainer in police arrest control techniques. Hughes said, "He was able to get that baton back from that inmate, and the inmate then went for his gun." However, the officer wrestled Thompson to the ground and was able to get him controlled.
Deputy Hughes says this all happened in less than 30 seconds. "The officer, thank goodness, didn't receive any major injuries or anything of that nature from being hit by the baton."
Hughes said there was only one officer with Thompson at the time. "This situation has nothing to do with dollars or staffing, he just met the classification level that he needed to be able to go with just one officer. And he'll never do that again," he said.
However, now he's considered high risk and has been charged with aggravated assault and attempt to escape.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
