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TOOELE — The fatal shooting of a mentally ill West Valley City man who authorities say pointed a rifle and handgun at officers at a hazardous waste disposal facility was ruled justified Thursday.
The pair of officers who shot at Barry Michael Zumwalt, 36, will not face criminal charges, Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead wrote in a Thursday letter to the Tooele County Sheriff's Office and Utah Department of Public Safety.
Broadhead's office reviewed an investigation conducted by the Utah County Sheriff's Office.
"The evidence in this case was noticeably consistent," Broadhead wrote, saying witness statements, interviews and physical evidence corroborated. "I found no disputable material facts."
Tooele sheriff's deputy Derek Brummel and Utah Highway Patrol trooper Chad McCoy said they fired at Zumwalt on Feb. 26 at about 7 a.m. after he brandished guns and threatened to blow up Clean Harbors Incineration Facility.
Zumwalt threatened to run his truck into propane tanks and told officers to let his wife out of the operation in Aragonite even though she was not there, dispatch records showed.
The review found Zumwalt had a pair of fluorescent tubes strapped to his chest and a black zip tie on his finger resembling a bomb trigger. Brummel and a witness reported the suspect held a handgun in one hand and grabbed a rifle from his truck with the other. Brummel said the handgun was pointed at the officers.
Because he wielded the two guns,"it was objectively reasonable to believe that Mr. Zumwalt was an immediate threat to the safety of officers and others," Broadhead wrote.
Zumwalt had five gunshot wounds from McCoy's weapon and one where a bullet grazed him, forensic examiners reported.
Zumwalt's family and ex-wife said after the shooting that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and psychotic tendencies and he had a manic episode starting Feb. 16. He checked himself into the VA Hospital on Feb. 22, and checked out the next day believing he was OK, his family said.
The investigation revealed that Mr. Zumwalt had a history of mental illness and that he was acting erratically in the days prior to the incident, but this was not known to officers or witnesses at he scene.
–Scott Broadhead, Tooele County Attorney
They said he likely stumbled upon the plant and didn't know where he was at the time
"The investigation revealed that Mr. Zumwalt had a history of mental illness and that he was acting erratically in the days prior to the incident," Broadhead said, without going into detail, "but this was not known to officers or witnesses at he scene."
Witnesses at the facility said Zumwalt was pacing, chain-smoking cigarettes and mumbling, saying he would kill the three people standing nearby.
Video footage showed him standing on the driver's side of his truck and that officers told him loud and clear to raise his hands, saying "put your hands up" and let me see your hands," among other commands, Broadhead wrote.
The video was not released.
Zumwalt fired first, one witness said. Another wasn't sure whether he shot into the air or at officers, according to Broadhead.
McCoy returned gunfire and Zumwalt fell, crawling under his car as McCoy fired more rounds and Brummel told him to get out from under the vehicle, Broadhead said.
Brummel feared for his and others' safety, he told investigators.
Related:
Family of man shot by police in Tooele County say mental illness had taken over
The name of a man shot and killed by police at a hazardous waste disposal facility over the weekend was released on Tuesday.McCoy continued to fire after Zumwalt fell because Zumwalt still had a handgun and was moving. The officers thought Zumwalt might have had explosives and weren't sure if he was dead at that point, Broadhead reported.
A bomb squad arrived at about 9 a.m., cleared the scene and confirmed Zumwalt's death.
"The more imminent the threat, the more reasonable the officer's belief that deadly force is necessary," Broadhead wrote Thursday. Proximity, speed, and a suspect's tactical advantage all factor in, he wrote.
Family members said the Navy veteran was a good dad and a truck driver who did not appear mentally ill, his family said.
"Something happened in his mind and he was really, really sick,” his dad, Don Zumwalt, said in February.
