OGDEN — New details have emerged on a shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon in northern Ogden that left a police officer injured and another man dead.

During a press conference Friday afternoon, Ogden Chief of Police Eric Young detailed the scene and identified Brian Dee Simonton, 37, Ogden, as the person who was killed in a shootout with police at the Washington Park apartments at 170 N. Washington Blvd., just south of the Ogden-Weber Technical College campus.

During the 15-minute press conference, Young said the initial call came in at 3:26 p.m. Tuesday.

“Ogden police officers responded to a call — violation of a protective order — at an apartment complex in the 100 North block of Washington Boulevard,” Young said. “The caller was the protected person in that protective order and she advised that the suspect — Brian Simonton — was at her apartment acting strange, acting as if he wanted to kill himself, or wanted to be killed is how it was described. The caller told the dispatchers that he was known to have a gun.”

He noted that at no point did Simonton come into contact with the protected subject.

“I commend the victim of the initial domestic violence call for keeping herself in a safe place and calling the police to handle this situation,” Young said. “We believe this could’ve been far worse than it was.”

Young said a lone patrol officer quickly responded to the scene and encountered Simonton in the parking lot of the apartment complex. He said Simonton was observed holding a gun and that the officer repeatedly ordered him to drop the firearm.

“The officer issued verbal commands to Simonton to drop the weapon repeatedly, even calling him by name and asking him to drop the weapon,” Young said. “Simonton did not comply and ultimately raised the handgun, pointed it at the officer and fired.”

Young said several officers then converged on the scene and that it’s believed eight Ogden police officers returned fire on Simonton, who continued to fire back. It was at this time the original responding officer was struck by a bullet that traveled from his lower arm, up his arm and to his chest.

“The round did not enter his chest, but it did cause damage in the area of his chest,” Young said. “Our officer did receive treatment at McKay-Dee Hospital and was transported to another facility where he underwent surgery. He’s recovered from that initial surgery and has been able to be released to home. He’s in good spirits.”

The officer was not named but Young said the injured officer is expected to make a full recovery, but that he sustained a significant injury and it will take time.

“Simonton was struck by several rounds fired by the Ogden officers and he fell to the ground,” Young said. “Simonton did not respond to commands to move away from the handgun, which was still within his reach and a police K-9 was deployed to pull Simonton out of reach of the handgun.”

Young said officers then approached Simonton and found he’d sustained significant injuries. Medical personnel were summoned but Simonton succumbed to his injuries. It was not noted whether he died on scene or in transit to a medical facility.

No one else was injured, but there was property damage.

“We’re very fortunate,” Young said. “There’s never a good location to have this happen.”

He added that he was unsure of how long the incident lasted nor the total number of shots fired.

During the press conference, Young spoke about body cameras and confirmed there is footage of the incident.

“It is the policy of the Ogden City Police Department that officers will activate their body-worn cameras while on calls for service,” he said. “There are several body-worn camera videos that were created by this event.”

He noted that the officers involved are on administrative leave pending a mandated investigation into the use of deadly force.

“It’s the policy of the Ogden City Police Department that all police officers involved in use of deadly force incidents will be investigated by the Weber County Attorney’s Critical Incident Taskforce,” he said. “In conjunction with that investigation by an outside agency, all body-worn camera videos have been turned over to their investigators. No body-worn camera video footage will be released until approved by the Weber County Attorney’s Office, who is handling this investigation. We will work to expedite the release though.”

Young said the department will not have any trouble carrying out its duties while the investigation is ongoing.

“We’re very fortunate that we’ve been fully staffed as a police department for several months now,” he said. “We have some people available to backfill those slots.”

According to a handout that was distributed at the press conference, Simonton had an extensive criminal history and had the following convictions:

• Attempted violation of a protective order (2019).
• Domestic violence assault, domestic violence in the presence of a child (2019).
• Intoxication (2016).
• Intoxication, disorderly conduct (2015).
• Intoxication (2014).
• Domestic violence assault (2008).
• Use or possession of drug paraphernalia (2006).
• Possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana (2006).
• Unlawful possession of alcohol/controlled substance by a minor, possession of drug paraphernalia (2004).

Additionally, a warrant for Simonton’s arrest was signed Tuesday for the charges of purchase, transfer, possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person and discharge of a firearm stemming from an unrelated incident that occurred May 27.

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