Lehi police captain shot twice, suspect identified
Washington woman killed after firing at officer, striking him in the head
Jeremy Duda
A Lehi police officer is in critical but stable condition after being shot twice in the head by a suspect in a traffic stop Monday morning. The shooter, Kelly Wark, 34, of Washington state, was shot and killed by backup officers.
Capt. Harold Terry, 55, was shot just above his left ear. He was conscious and talking when he was airlifted to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo in critical condition. Lehi police spokesman Sgt. Darren Paul said Terry was recuperating with his wife and children after undergoing surgery to remove a bullet and bullet fragments.
“We are optimistic and hopeful for a full recovery,” Paul said.
Around 8:46 a.m., a clerk at Walker Oil, near 850 E. Main St., called police to report a possible impaired driver. The clerk told police Wark was driving erratically and had slurred speech and balance problems when she went to the store to buy gas.
Terry, a 16-year Lehi police veteran, pulled over Wark’s tan Honda Accord near 1000 East and Main Street at 8:52 a.m. According to Paul, Terry and the driver talked for a few moments before some type of argument started. Wark pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and shot Terry twice from the driver’s seat of her car, Paul said.
After shooting Terry, Wark got out of her car and was shot and killed by three backup officers who had arrived at the scene, Paul said. Terry was able to fire one round after being shot, hitting the suspect’s vehicle. Paul said the backup officers fired five rounds at Wark, who was hit multiple times.
“They immediately returned fire,” Paul said.
Police say that Wark was a student at the Utah College of Massage Therapy in Lindon.
After the shooting, officers blocked off Main Street in Lehi from Interstate 15 to about 1200 East on Monday morning. A white sheet covered the Wark’s body, which lay several feet from her car.
Paul said investigators do not know her motive.
“That’s part of the ongoing investigation,” he said.
Paul said he was unaware of any criminal history or open warrants for Wark. Investigators also were trying to determine what caused the conflict that immediately preceded the shooting.
“He approached her, requested her driver’s license and there was an altercation at that time,” Paul said.
Paul said investigators had not yet determined whether there were any signs of drugs or alcohol in the vehicle, which they were in the process of searching.
A team from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, and an autopsy and toxicology test will be conducted by the state medical examiner’s office.
As the captain of the Lehi police’s patrol unit, one of Terry’s duties is to provide training to other officers. Paul described Terry as a leader who is well respected at the department.
His duties do not generally include conducting traffic stops, but he happened to be in the area when the report of the impaired driver came in and was the first officer to spot her tan Honda, so he pulled the car over himself.
“Knowing Capt. Terry, I’m not a bit surprised. He leads by example,” Paul said.
Terry also conducts training for the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy, Paul said, and teaches classes at a local college.
Paul said police officers often consider traffic stops to be the most dangerous encounters they have because there are so many unknown factors involved.
“Obviously we have to be cautious. We don’t know who we’re approaching,” he said.
• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.
Lehi police Chief Chad Smith has been hospitalized, according to an announcement Monday night at a Lehi Roundup event. He is reportedly at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, though he is not listed on the public patient roster. No other information was available on his condition Monday night.
