Ogden officers ruled justified in punching man; family plans to sue

OGDEN, Utah — The Ogden Police Department has ruled its officers were justified in a use-of-force case and are explaining the full situation that led two officers to punch a man as he lay on the ground. The arrest got attention after a bystander posted video showing the repeated punches, causing concern among some community members.

The mother of that man now says she plans to file a lawsuit against the department for excessive use of force.

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Ogden Police Chief Eric Young walked step-by-step through what unfolded Saturday evening when officers stopped Shawn Sims as he walked on the roadway of Washington Boulevard, along the edge of the lane on the white line. He also showed body camera footage from two of the four officers who responded.

“Get on the ground! Get on the ground!” one officer yelled as he approached Sims.

Sims had taken off and was running across the street at the time.

“Mr. Sims withdrew his hand from his waistband and pushed it out under his shirt in this manner as if he was pointing a gun at the police officers underneath his shirt,” Young said.

“He’s reaching for his waistband, which we know in law enforcement when somebody starts reaching for their waistband, you’re worried about a gun,” said Chris Bertram, a former police chief with the Unified Police Department.

The officer pushed Sims to the ground and three other officers immediately jumped on top.

Sims is seen stiffening his arms and appearing to put them in the waist of his pants. An officer then began to punch Sims in the side of his torso, yelling at Sims to show his hands.

“Give me your hands! Stop resisting! Stop reaching in your waist!” a second officer screamed as he punched Sims in the head.

Young explained that those punches were well within department policy, and explained that officers feared Sims had a gun because of reaching into his waist and making the gun motion.

   Ogden Police Department policy on use of force and firearms by LarryDCurtis on Scribd

“Mr. Sims placing his hand in his waistband like he has a gun, pulling what would make them believe is a gun, pointing it towards them and blading off at them like he’s about to shoot them, would be described as active aggression, so officers are able to respond with whatever force necessary at that time to bring the situation quickly under control,” he said.

Young described the punches as “distraction strikes,” where they punched Sims in the head area in order to get him to comply and free up his hands. He said officers also tasered Sims twice to try to get him to comply, which is heard in the video. But he never complied, Young said.

Once officers got control of Sims and handcuffed him, Young said they stopped all use of force. Young outlined how officers immediately notified a sergeant and the department began the after-action review before the bystander video of the use of force was released.

Ogden police investigating punches thrown by officers captured in bystander video

They have since ruled that all four officers were justified in their actions.

Bertram said this situation could have ended much worse, especially since they weren’t sure if Sims had a weapon.

“We can’t make snap judgments,” he said. “Let’s take it, let’s investigate it and find out what really happened.”

Sims’ mother, Marsha Quitana, has hired attorney Robert Sykes and after the press conference Tuesday, said officers broke her son’s eye orbits, nose, jaw and fractured his ribs.

Mother calls for accountability over Ogden police encounter caught on video

Sykes said they believe officers used more force than was necessary.

“All for allegedly not being compliant,” Sykes said. “It’s a very minor offense. You don’t beat someone to a pulp for that.”

He said they are still gathering the facts, but they plan to sue the Ogden Police Department.

Young said they’ve asked the Weber County Attorney’s Office to conduct a criminal review of the event in addition to the ongoing criminal case against Sims, to ensure officers didn’t violate the law.