Army finds flaws in handling of AWOL soldier killed in Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY -- A new report from the U.S. Army regarding a heavily armed man killed during a shootout with Salt Lake police last summer finds flaws in some of the Army's procedures for reporting servicemen who go AWOL.

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In a letter sent to the Army in response to the report, the family of Army Spec. Brandon Barrett said they also have concerns about how the Army handled the situation, including its failure to warn authorities in Utah that Barrett was headed to the state.

"The Army had clear documentation that Brandon intended to go to Utah," Shane Barrett, Brandon's brother, said in his letter. "The Salt Lake City Police Department had no idea that there was a possibility Brandon could be in the Salt Lake City area. Officer Downes had no idea what he was going to encounter ..."

Had Utah authorities been given proper notification, the shootout in Salt Lake could have been avoided, he said.

"The Army had a responsibility to protect the citizens of Salt Lake City, including officer Downes, by giving proper and immediate notification to civilian law enforcement," Barrett said in his letter.

Brandon Barrett, who served in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, was dressed in full combat gear -- including body armor issued by his base, a helmet, an assault rifle, two handguns and armed with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition -- when he was shot and killed by Salt Lake police officer Uppsen Downes on Aug. 27, 2010. Downes fired after Barrett shot him first.

Salt Lake police have said in the past that the first time they'd ever heard of Barrett was the day he shot Downes, who was still able to return fire, striking and killing Barrett.

The newly released report from the Army does not give any explanation as to why Barrett was in Utah or what his intentions were. Shortly before he was killed, Barrett had been trying to reach the top of the Grand America Hotel and investigators in Utah believe he was trying to set up a sniper position.

In its report, the Army found Barrett's company "did all that was reasonably possible to save" him.

But the investigation also found the "U.S. Army's process to coordinate for civilian apprehension of a deserter by civilian police is flawed," and the Army failed to properly notify Barrett's family that he had gone AWOL.

On June 26, Barrett arrived at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., after a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan. Within the first 24 hours of arriving, he was arrested for investigation of DUI.

On July 19, Barrett failed to show up for work and was declared AWOL 24 hours later.

On Aug. 18, Barrett sent a text message to a friend -- a soldier at the base -- telling him he purchased 500 rounds of ammunition for his AR-15 and, "was going to show them why they shouldn't (expletive deleted) with recently deployed soldiers," the report states.

It was also about the time of the first text message that a second message was received by one of Barrett's friends stating, "they (will) never take me alive," base spokeswoman Maj. Jenny Willis told the Deseret News last fall.

By that point, Barrett had been home with his family in Tucson, Ariz., for nearly a month. Attempts by the Army to contact his parents and let them know that their son was considered AWOL were not completed.

In a letter to the Army sent by Shane Barrett, he said the biggest frustration the family has today is what they called a "lost opportunity" during the month his brother was home.

The family believed Brandon Barrett was home on "routine leave."

"By the time notification to the family was made (of his AWOL status), it was too late," Shane Barrett said in his letter.

The Army's report agreed to an extent with Shane Barrett, saying the base should have made a better effort to contact the family. Brandon Barrett's company failed to "utilize notification letters" to the family, according to the report, and staffing procedures "were not clear," which prevented letters from being sent.

The Army also noted that Barrett's paperwork was buried in a backlog of 1,600 packets.

The report further indicated the Army could not find a current phone number for Barrett's father. Shane Barrett called this "upsetting," noting that, "Salt Lake City reporters were able to leave voice mail after voice mail on my father's current phone."

"My family and I strongly believe that if notification had been made, via telephone or letter in a timely manner, Brandon would be with us here today," he said in his letter.

The report said Brandon Barrett was "highly regarded as a good soldier," had no disciplinary problems other than his DUI, had "relaxed yet outgoing personality," did not show any "recent mood changes" and was not considered an at-risk soldier.

But the report also found that right before his death, Barrett's family noticed a change in his behavior. Barrett used to play video games with warlike scenarios before he left for Afghanistan, but would not play them when he returned.

His family also reports that following the deployment, Barrett had called home expressing concerns that he didn't think he was going to survive, that he was having trouble adjusting to life and couldn't reach out for help without being "labeled negatively," according to the report.

While in Afghanistan, Barrett's squad was twice attacked by suicide bombers and attacked in a third incident with a roadside bomb. The incidents resulted in at least one death and many wounded.

Barrett "experienced significant losses in combat that affected his behavior and actions leading up to" the incident in Salt Lake City, according to the report. But again, Barrett did not seek help "for the sake of being labeled," the report stated.

In his Post-Deployment Health Assessment administered by the Army in July, Brandon Barrett said he felt "in great danger of being killed," had "little interest or pleasure in doing things" and felt "down, depressed or hopeless," according to Shane Barrett's letter. He said his brother also said things like he was "constantly on guard" and was having a "somewhat difficult" time dealing with emotional problems.

Shane Barrett, who is an officer with the Tucson Police Department, said if any officer in his division had given these types of answers, the officer "would have received an immediate and mandatory one-on-one behavioral health assessment."

Also in his letter, Shane Barrett said he was concerned about the lack of notification by the Army to law enforcement in Utah.

Last fall, Willis told the News that Brandon Barrett had spoken to a base chaplain sometime between Aug. 21 and Aug. 23 and said he was returning to Washington to turn himself in, but was going to visit a friend first, somewhere in Utah.

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"There was no information about Salt Lake. He never gave a specific destination. He never gave a route. There really wasn't much to go on as far as information sharing. There was no reason to think he was doing anything except coming home. We didn't know his intentions," Willis said last fall.

On Aug. 25, the Army was notified of threats made on Barrett's MySpace account and text messages, according to the report.

It was previously reported that Barrett posted online before his death that he intended to do something that would make him famous. Among the text messages he sent during the time he was AWOL was one saying he was preparing for death with "one hell of an argument and about 1,000 rounds" to prove his point.

As part of their recommendations, the Army recommends in its report that policies and procedures for properly making notifications of AWOL soldiers are reviewed. In addition, the report recommends the establishment of a confidential hotline for soldiers dealing with post deployment stress as well as encouraging soldiers to seek help.

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com

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