OGDEN -- The brother of slain Agent Jared Francom, of the Ogden Police Department, addressed the hundreds of people at a candlelight vigil Thursday.
"Thank you all for your dedication," Travis Francom said, standing with his brother's family. "It's truly an honor that you have all come for my brother, even if you didn't know him."
Francom was shot when he and 11 other members of the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force tried to issue a warrant Wednesday night in Ogden. He died in the hospital early Thursday morning.
"We lost a really good man," Weber County Attorney Dee Smith said of Francom as he left his office Thursday evening for McKay-Dee Hospital.
Smith hadn't slept since Wednesday morning, spending the night at the crime scene and visiting hospitals.
"He was a guy you just enjoyed being around," Smith said, adding that Francom had a rare enthusiasm for life. "He made you smile, he made you laugh."
Smith said Francom "absolutely loved" being a police officer. "The strike force was his dream job."
"We've been hit hard. It will take time, but we'll get through this," former Ogden Police Assistant Chief Randy Watt, who left the office for the private sector just last month, said in a Facebook post.
"Officer Francom was as fine a young man and officer as ever worked in law enforcement, as are the other five wounded officers ... Only two professions run towards the sound of gunfire, cops and soldiers.
"This situation was no different, the heroic response by officers from multiple agencies put a rapid end to an evil gunman's rampage. God Bless the families and all involved, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers."
Ogden Police Lt. Danielle Croyle remembers Francom as "ambitious. He was eager to learn. He was a mentor. He had integrity and a high sense of self-worth. He was a fabulous officer."
Francom, 30, of Hooper, was a seven-year veteran of the Ogden department and leaves behind a wife, Erin, and two daughters, ages 5 and 3.
He had served on the strike force since 2009. He was the current president of the Ogden Police Benefit Association, a fraternal, sometimes political, organization of line officers.
Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Lowther described Sgt. Nate Hutchinson, 35, a 10-year veteran of the sheriff's office, as "a cop's cop."
The devoted family man has been a great and enthusiastic supervisor, he said.
Visiting with him as he recuperated Wednesday night, Lowther said, "he was more worried about his guys than himself."
Lowther said Hutchinson was shot multiple times.
No details have been provided on the injuries to strike force members Shawn Grogan and Kasey Burrell, who along with Ogden Officer Michael Rounkles, a member of the department's Crime Reduction Unit, were all listed in critical condition Thursday afternoon at McKay-Dee Hospital.
Kasey Burrell, 33, of Roy, is a seven-year member of the Ogden department, the last 4 1/2 years with the strike force.
"Kasey is a very good friend of mine and a great police officer and an even better man," Smith said.
Burrell has two young children, and his wife is pregnant with their third child.
Strike force member Jason Vanderwarf, 37, a Roy police officer, was released Thursday morning from Ogden Regional Medical Center.
Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham called him a dedicated officer with a wife and two children and five years at RPD, the last year assigned to the strike force.
He said Vanderwarf will not be commenting to the media while on paid leave, like most if not all of the officers involved in the Wednesday night shooting.
"He's being paid to address his injuries and the needs of the investigation."
Before the strike force assignment, he said, Vanderwarf was the "much-loved" school resource officer at Roy High School.
Shawn Grogan, a 13-year veteran of the Ogden department, is described as the quiet man on the strike force, different from the gregarious Francom and Burrell. He recently ended a strike force assignment as the liaison coordinating gun and drug cases with federal prosecutors. He is engaged and has children from a previous marriage.
Michael Rounkles, a young husband, one of the newest hires, with four years at OPD, is described as a vibrant young officer who was preparing to train for Iron Man competitions. They consist of a 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride topped off by a 26.4-mile run.
"This was the A Team," Smith said of the six officers. "These are the best that we have."
Comments