SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A woman is now receiving treatment after she damaged power equipment and climbed a substation transformer in Salt Lake City Wednesday morning during what police say was a mental health episode.
The incident, which took place near Gladiola Street and Decade Drive, led to authorities cutting power to more than 800 homes to prevent the woman from being electrocuted. According to the Salt Lake City Police Department, the alleged trespasser was taken into custody and transported to the hospital.
Ryan Kent, a witness to the incident, said he was driving in Salt Lake City when he noticed a couple of police cars at a power substation and pulled over to see what was happening.
He said he saw a woman standing on top of the substation transformer “screaming obscenities” at the police as they tried to coax her to come down. He also noticed what looked like a smashed circuit box and a pipe nearby. That’s when four or five more police cars pulled up to the scene.
A woman allegedly climbed a substation transformer in Salt Lake City Wednesday morning, Nov. 13, during what police say was a mental health episode. (Credit: Ryan Kent)
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Kent said he heard the woman yelling about how the world was no longer safe for her or future children and negotiators attempting to convince her to come down from the power structure. As the situation unfurled over the next 20 to 30 minutes, Kent said a large crowd of people gathered near the substation.
“We were kind of concerned for her,” Kent said. “We’re waiting around hoping that she’s safe and she’s okay, and she comes down.”
Authorities then began surrounding her with cherry pickers, but Kent said the woman started kicking the cherry pickers and grabbed onto a wire, climbing it like a “vine.”
Kent said when she stepped onto the rim of a cherry picker an officer shot a stun gun toward her which was followed by a “yelp.”
The police officer then said to get inside the cherry picker or he would shoot again. The officer allegedly shot her again with the stun gun.
“She literally collapsed … from pain into the cherry picker and they went down slowly,” Kent said. “She seemed okay. She was verbal, and she was in pain, she was crying, and then [an] ambulance came put her on a stretcher, and took her away.”
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Dave Eskelsen, a representative of Rocky Mountain Power, confirmed with ABC4.com that a person went into a substation and began damaging a control panel shortly before 11 a.m. Eskelsen said system dispatchers quickly cut the power and police were able to take the person out of the substation.
Eskelsen said approximately 800 customers were without service from around 11 a.m. to shortly before 1 p.m. when it was restored.
He is reminding the public that substations are hazardous and it’s “extremely risky” to enter one without training. Eskelsen said Rocky Mountain Power employees have to prepare before entering and take “tremendous caution” to stay safe.
Salt Lake City police told ABC4 they are working to get the person involved the resources they need. They did not provide any identifying characteristics about the alleged trespasser.
Sorina Trauntvein and Mj Jewkes contributed to reporting.
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