North Ogden City Council Meeting Evacuated After Death Threat
Feb 13, 2019, 6:31 AM
NORTH OGDEN, Utah – A city meeting ended abruptly Tuesday night because of an alleged threat.
According to city officials, the North Ogden City Council meeting received a death threat, though they did not elaborate on the nature of the threat itself.
Police said a man called dispatch at approximately 8:30 p.m. and made the threats against the council meeting. Officers responded and set up a perimeter around the building.
In a live stream of the council meeting, a police officer could be seen interrupting the meeting to speak to Mayor Brent Chugg. The mayor then ends the meeting.
“We’re going to close the meeting at this time, so meeting is adjourned,” Chugg said.
Those who attended noticed there was a heavy police presence, and one resident said she was upset that it took so long to tell the audience what was happening.
She said she didn’t feel like those in attendance should have been left to sit next to windows while the threat was being investigated.
“For 30 minutes, the constituents of North Ogden City sat and waited,” said resident Meg Sanders. “Then finally, police officers came in, whispered to our mayor, and our mayor said: ‘This meeting is adjourned. The police will give you further instructions.'”
In the live stream, officers can be seen telling people to leave their belongings as they exit the room.
North Ogden police officers were at the scene well into the evening looking into the credibility of the threat. They said they didn’t find anyone or anything suspicious either in or around the building.
“Safety is our No. 1 concern,” said North Ogden City Police Det. Sgt. Jeremy Hines. “If it takes two hours to be safe, then that’s what we want to do.”
