Image supplied, Weber County Attorney's Office via YouTube

OGDEN — Brian Simonton, killed in a June 6 shootout with Ogden police, had been suicidal and had hit “rock bottom” when the encounter occurred, according to details in a video update of the probe into the incident prepared by Weber County Attorney’s Office investigators.

“He’s trying to leave his dog with me. He’s homeless, has nowhere to go and the dog is very sick,” said one of callers to Weber County dispatchers reporting Simonton’s presence at Washington Park Apartments at 170 N. Washington Blvd. Simonton, authorities said, was violating a protective order by being at the apartment complex and was threatening others in the area.

Audio of the 911 call was included in the video, along with body camera footage from six officers who responded to the incident.

The initial 911 caller, not identified in the video, said Simonton had previously expressed suicidal thoughts. “He just kind of showed up unannounced and I know he’s hit rock bottom and I feel bad for him. But I cannot have him here,” she said.

Another 911 caller from the apartment complex said he had asked Simonton, 37, to leave, to no avail. “I asked him to leave. He won’t leave,” the man said. “He’s yelling at me, ‘Come over, b—- boy. I’ll kick your a– right now.'”

Image supplied, Weber County Attorney's Office via YouTube

As authorities have previously reported, what followed was a chase on the grounds of the apartment complex, a chaotic gunfight between Simonton and eight Ogden officers called to the scene and the firing of countless rounds of bullets. The initial responding officer suffered a gunshot wound to the arm — he’s recovering, according to the video — and Simonton ended up dead.

The video update, released last Friday, contains body camera footage of the incident from six officers and offers a graphic accounting of what happened, in line with accounts officials have previously supplied. However, the incident remains under investigation and officials offered no formal pronouncement on the use of force in the violent exchange.

“A final report with all of the evidence will be prepared and submitted to the Weber County Attorney’s office for final review,” reads narrative in the video.

A lone officer initially responded to Simonton’s presence, and seemingly from the get-go, Simonton — found after he was shot and killed with a 0.45-caliber Colt revolver — was brandishing a weapon. He was uncooperative with the officer, according to the video, and they initially faced off in a parking lot of the apartment complex, separated by several parked cars.

“Drop the weapon now! Drop the weapon!” the officer commanded, according to video from the body camera he was wearing. He repeated similar commands several times to no apparent avail.

Image supplied, Weber County Attorney's Office via YouTube

Ultimately, gunfire erupted and a chase ensued around the grounds of the apartment complex, the officer pursuing Simonton. More gunshots sounded and the officer was shot. “Seven four, I’m hit. Seven four, I’m hit,” the officer said into his radio.

Footage from the body cameras of five other officers shows similar interactions, officers commanding Simonton to drop his gun seemingly to no avail and the exchange of gunfire. Two officers, at one point, yelled for the varied responding officers to be careful about being hit by crossfire. “Watch the crossfire,” one said.

Ultimately, the shootout ended after about six minutes with Simonton dead in a grassy area behind an apartment building on the east periphery of the complex, abutting a maintenance facility on the campus of Ogden-Weber Technical College. The OWTC campus sits east and northeast of Washington Park Apartments.

“He’s down,” yelled one officer.

Investigators found evidence suggesting Simonton had reloaded his gun twice and was attempting to reload it a third time when he was killed. “Investigators found five empty shell casings and there was evidence that Simonton was trying to reload based on the live ammunition discovered near his body,” reads narrative in the video.

The video further noted Simonton’s prior run-ins with the law. “Brian Simonton has been convicted of multiple domestic violence incidents. At the time of this incident, he had two active protective orders against him,” according to a narrative in the video.

Meanwhile, Simonton’s obituary, painted a different picture. He is survived by two sons, among others.

Simonton “would do anything for anybody; all you had to do was call and ask, Brian would be right there. He loved the mountains and anything to do with the outdoors. Woodworking was his specialty, which led him to his career in construction framing houses,” reads the obituary. “He loved working out and doing tons of cool projects, but most of all Brian was a loving father that would do anything for his boys, and his best friend Bruce, his fur baby. They were his life.”

The Weber County Attorney’s Office is busy with varied investigations stemming from violent encounters around the county in recent months. Aside from the Simonton matter, it is investigating the June 13 shootout between Ogden police and Alex Lopez that left Lopez dead and the April 27 shootout between North Ogden police and Jeffrey Roberts that left Roberts dead.

Lopez fired on police in an Ogden neighborhood after a chase, precipitating the shooutout, while Roberts fired on North Ogden police after they responded to reports of gunfire at a home, according to authorities. Roberts had just killed his brother and injured his sister-in-law, officials say.

The Weber County Attorney’s Office is also investigating the violent, though not deadly, April 22 encounter between Ogden police and Shawn Sims in the middle of Washington Boulevard.

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