OGDEN, Utah, May 8, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — An attorney for Shawn Sims, whose April 22 arrest by Ogden City police was recorded by a bystander, has filed a complaint for alleged excessive force used in the takedown.
The video, posted online by the private party for several hours before he removed it, showed four OCPD officers restraining Sims, forcing him to the roadway face down, with two of them delivering multiple blows as Sims was pinned to the roadway on Washington Boulevard at about 15th South.
A video statement issued by Ogden City Police Chief Eric Young, supported by bodycam video, held that Sims, 30, refused to comply and was seen reaching to his waistband, as if reaching for a weapon. Officers were reacting to what they believed was a threat of deadly force, the OCPD statement said, and they stopped punching Sims as soon as he was handcuffed, eliminating the potential threat.
The complaint — filed with defendants including OCPD officer Zachary Young, another OCPD officer, the police department, and the city of Ogden — alleges that Sims, although walking in the road, was not hurting anyone or acting violent or in a threatening manner.
Sims’ right hand was simply holding up his pants, the complaint alleges.
“They violently smashed Sims’ face into the pavement while punching Sims in the face, head, shoulders and back over and over again with full-swing punches,” the complaint states. “Sims was essentially motionless while the Officers repeatedly beat him. … As the beating continued, Sims was shrieking in agony and unable to fully communicate. … Sims could not breathe due to pressure on his side and back. The Officers were shouting at Sims, giving confusing and conflicting commands.”
The complaint states that “Officers repeatedly commanded Sims to get on his stomach. The positioning of Sims by the Officers did not allow for Sims to comply with all of the Officers’ orders. For a period of roughly 30 seconds, Doe Officers 1 and 2 brutalized Sims by savagely beating him in the face, head and back. Sims was afraid that if he resisted or moved, the Officers would shoot him.”
The complaint states that Sims was told at a hospital emergency room that officers had cracked four of his ribs, fractured orbital sockets, broken his nose and broken his jaw.”
Sims was booked into the Weber County jail on suspicion of:
- Four counts of possession of a controlled substance schedule I/II/analog, a third-degree felony
- Failure to stop at command of law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor
- Interference with arresting officers, a class B misdemeanor
- Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor
- Prohibited activities by pedestrian using roadway, an infraction
Sims was booked into the Weber County jail on April 23 and remained incarcerated there as of Monday.
The filed complaint lists seven “cause of action” points against various defendants, which are:
- Excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, against all four officers
- Failure to intervene, against all four OCPD officers
- Unlawful or deficient policies, procedures and/or protocols, against Ogden City, through OCPD
- Failure to train and/or supervise, against Ogden City
- Municipal liability against Ogden City through its police department
- State Constitutional claims against Young and the three other officers
- Intentional and/or willful misconduct under Utah state law, against Young and the second officer
The complaint requests a jury trial and general, special and punitive damages, plus attorney fees upon conviction.
The Ogden City Police Department has not yet commented on the complaint.
