Curtis Allgier Kills Corrections Officer, Captured After Chase

Curtis Allgier, a white supremacist prisoner who was taken to the hospital complaining of lower back pain stole a correctional officer’s gun on Monday and killed him, authorities said.  He then led police on a high-speed chase in a stolen sport utility vehicle before his capture at a fast-food restaurant. Authorities said he could face the death penalty.  The officer who was killed was identified as Stephen Anderson, 60, a 22-year corrections employee.

Curtis Allgier Kills Corrections Officer, Captured After Chase

Curtis Allgier, whose wears a swastika and the words "skin head" on his heavily tattooed face, fired a shot in the Arby's that hit no one before a customer at the restaurant grabbed the gun, Salt Lake City police Sgt. Rich Brede said. "It sounds like he was heroic, even though he's being humble about it," he said of the 59-year-old customer.

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The convict complained of his "lower back pain" to prison medical staff members, who made a referral for an M.R.I. evaluation outside the state prison in Draper.  That's where it all went wrong.  The New York Times reports that Allgier had been shackled at the hands and feet, officials said. But for the M.R.I. his metal cuffs had to be replaced with plastic ones.  Allgier then got the gun from corrections officer Stephen Anderson while he was in an examination room at the University of Utah orthopedic center.

University Police Chief Scott Folsom said. "There was some sort of altercation. The inmate got hold of the weapon and shot the officer."  He was shot in the head.  Mr. Allgier has not yet been charged and remains in custody in the Salt Lake City Jail.