SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A man who was credited with helping to save a woman’s life following a car crash was shot and killed the following day in Utah by police in what authorities suspect was a case of suicide by cop.
Aaron Michael Griffin, 21, died in a shootout with police last Saturday. It was unclear what provoked the initial shooting but a police dog was wounded during the gunfire. No other officers were reported to be injured. The dog underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery, police said.
A day earlier, Griffin was credited with helping to rescue woman who crashed her car driving an estimated 90 mph (145 kph) on a 35 mph (48 kph) road, launching her out her window. The woman was pinned below her car unconscious when Griffin and a friend, Parker Thorson, rescued her, the Deseret News reported.
Thorson said a fire had ignited in the vehicle as he and Griffin lifted the car and pulled the woman out. Plain City Fire Chief TJ Larson said there was “no doubt” the woman would have succumbed to her injuries had Griffin and Thorson not intervened. Larson says the woman was taken to a hospital, where doctors said she had a good chance of making a full recovery.
“I wanted to thank them for something not a lot of people do,” Larson said.
Larson said he was even going to inquire about whether Griffin or Larson was interested in a career in firefighting. But he never got the chance.
Griffin’s friends say he had relapsed on drugs recently and became suicidal. “He just reached a point he had no desire to live,” said Laura Spencer, who was Griffin’s roommate for several years.
One of the last texts Spencer said she received from Griffin said he had “no idea why this is taking so long,” apparently referring to his plan to have police kill him.
Spencer said she and other friends tried to get Griffin into rehab.
“He was a loving, caring guy,” Thorson said. “He had a big heart. If anyone was in need, he was there to help. He shouldn’t be judged for his final actions, but judged for all the good he did in his life and the people he helped.”
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