OGDEN -- She knew he'd run.
But Amber White, sister of 25-year-old Cody Allen White, who was shot and killed by police on Jan. 4, said she just can't see Cody pointing a gun at police officers or provoking them to shoot him.
"My brother is just crazy," she said. "But he never, never would point a gun at an officer."
Amber said she is waiting to receive more information from law enforcement about the details of the morning shooting.
Police say Cody was driving a stolen truck and led them on a chase through Weber County and into Davis County. He crashed the truck in a field in unincorporated Davis County, got out of the vehicle and tried to run. Officials say he pulled out a gun and threatened officers. More than one officer fired and Cody died at the scene.
Amber, who is 18 months older than Cody, said she doesn't dispute that he would run away from law enforcement. He didn't want to go back to jail, she said, so he had told her that he would try to get away.
"He said if he got caught stealing cars, that he would run," she said. "At least try to get out of it."
But, she said she just can't see Cody pointing a gun at police, and thinks the weapon might have actually been a BB gun.
"The last time I saw him, he had a BB gun that looked like a gun," she said. "That's what he had days before that and I told him to get rid of it. I told him, 'You're a felon. What if you got pulled over and somebody thought it was a real gun?' "
Amber described Cody as a loving, affectionate man who promised to help her and her children while she was going through a divorce. But he also struggled with drug addictions, that stemmed from a battle with depression, and had been stealing cars since his pre-teen years.
"He was my protector," she said. "He made his mistakes, and I didn't hold it against him. I just didn't allow his lifestyle (in my home)."
What Cody was not, however, was suicidal, Amber said. Amber said their aunt told another media outlet that Cody may have wanted to end his life because he did not want to go to prison.
He had a court date scheduled in West Jordan on a felony theft charge the same day he died.
"He wasn't suicidal," she said. "He was just frustrated."
She said he was on his way to her house in Layton the morning he was shot.
Amber said he had made plans to live with her, and turn his life around so he could gain custody of his 2-year-old son, who is currently living with his maternal grandparents.
Amber said the family will wait and see what kind of documentation she receives from law enforcement before any decision is made about possible legal action.
Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said Thursday investigators in the case are still working on collecting evidence. Any kind of report is likely weeks away, he said.
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