OGDEN, Utah, Nov. 2, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Ogden City Police Department has identified suspect shot Monday by one of its officers, and shared the news that the man is expected to recover.
The man shot was 32-year-old Casey Pacheco.
OCPD Chief Eric Young also revealed that no body-camera recording exists, because the officer who fired the four shots, striking Pacheco twice, rushed from an unrelated squad briefing at the police station to the scene, a few blocks away, without stopping to retrieve his body camera from its charging station.
“The caller stated there were two individuals fighting,” Young told reporters at a Monday afternoon briefing.
“One caller stated the man had a knife to another person’s neck. Officers immediately began to respond. One officer ran from a squad briefing here at the station and 21st and Lincoln, and rushed to the scene. That officer was the first to arrive at the scene and located two individuals on the south side of 26th street, about mid-block.
“The officer located the suspect who was in possession of the knife. At some point during the event, the officer was put in a position where he fired four rounds from his duty weapon two of those rounds struck the suspect. The knife and the suspect was secured, and Ogden Fire personnel responded immediately and rendered aid to the suspect.”
Pacheco was in stable condition, and was transported to MacKay-Dee Hospital.
“He immediately underwent surgery and he’s stable now is expected to make a full recovery,” Young said.
The chief said officers were familiar with Pacheco, who has no known address, from previous incidents.
The scene was secured for investigators from an Officer-Involved Critical Incident team lead by the Weber County Attorney’s Office, as is protocol when officers are involved in the use of potentially deadly force, Young said.
A female at the scene, who was the reported victim being threatened by Pacheco, was interviewed by officers. Witnesses including road workers, one of whom alerted dispatch to the incident, were interviewed, and a video recorded by one worker was shared with investigators.
The officer who fired the shots will remain on paid leave until the Weber County Attorney’s Office determines whether the officer’s actions were justified.
Answering a reporter’s question, Young said it’s unfortunate the officer did not remember to retrieve his camera when faced with news of the victim’s urgent situation, but body cameras don’t always tell the full story anyway. In this case, the number of witnesses and the recording made by one will help document the facts, he said.
Young thanked the witnesses who called in the incident and shared their accounts with investigators. He also thanked dispatchers for their quick work alerting officers. Young also thanked Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell, who was present at the news conference, for his support of the OCPD.u for coming.
