An Ogden police officer died in a shooting after responding to a domestic violence call Thursday in the area of Jackson Avenue and Harrop Street shortly after noon.
The shooting led to a shelter-in-place order received by residents through their cellphones. That order has been lifted, but police want residents to stay in their homes likely for the next 24 hours to help facilitate the investigation.
“A fine young officer with just 15 months on the job was killed,” said Ogden Police Chief Randy Watt, who struggled to fight off tears. An officer with Adult Probation and Parole has been injured. He has been treated and released.
Watt said, “It is a sad day for our department, our city and the greater Ogden-Weber County community."
He did not release the name of the officer who died at McKay Dee Hospital, saying he wanted to let the officer’s family have some time. He also didn’t release the name of the suspect involved, who was found dead at the scene. He took no questions during a brief news conference, where he thanked the officers from other departments who came to assist.
Watt said that the original police call involved a woman who said her husband had threatened to kill her. Police were confronted by a man on the front porch of the house. The man went inside, shut the door and Watt said the man started shooting through the door, striking the two officers.
A SWAT team got some children out of the house, Watt said, and later determined the suspect was dead.
“Our hearts are broken. We have lost one of our own. The days to come will be hectic for us," Watt said. “Please as a department, as a community, as a state and as a nation let us not forget such fine men and women who every day offer their lives up on behalf of this great and noble calling.”
Utah’s Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement on Facebook saying, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. The worst days in this profession are those where we lose our brothers and sisters in the line of duty. Information is still being gathered. Take a moment to think on and honor the fallen officer, their family, their colleagues, and their communities.”
The Salt Lake City, West Jordan and Provo police departments, among others, offered condolences on Twitter.
Our deepest condolences to
@OGDEN_POLICE this afternoon. We mourn with you on the loss of your officer. Godspeed.
— West Jordan Police Dept. (@WJPD_PIO)
May 28, 2020
Before Thursday, 145 Utah peace officers died in the line of duty since 1853, according to the state’s
fallen officer memorial. The last was Provo officer Joseph Shinners. He
was shot Jan. 5, 2019, in Orem as he and police from that city were trying to apprehend a suspect. Shinners later died at Utah Valley Hospital.
Seven years to the day before Shinners death, Ogden police officer Jared Francom
was shot to death while serving a search warrant with the local drug task force. He was the ninth Ogden police officer killed in the line of duty before Thursday.
