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OGCEN — A woman who claims her son is the man being punched by Ogden police in a widely shared video says he no longer has vision in one of his eyes.
"Shawn has suffered a broken nose, fractured jaw, broken orbital sockets and complete loss of vision in one of his eyes. The possibility of him getting his vision back is very very slim," Marsha Quintana said.
Quintana's son is Shawn Sims. Ogden police have not confirmed the name of the man seen in the video, but a Shawn D. Lane Sims, 30, was booked into the Weber County Jail on Saturday for investigation of a number of charges, including four counts of drug possession, intoxication, interfering with an arrest, engaging in activities prohibited by a pedestrian in the road, and failing to stop at the command of police.
The Ogden Police Department has not commented directly on the incident, only releasing a short statement Sunday saying administrators were aware of it and of the existence of a video recorded by a bystander.
"The department had begun an after-action use-of-force investigation prior to the release of the bystander video. We will report those findings and all available body worn camera footage as soon as possible," police said.
The department has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday afternoon to discuss the arrest.
An officer spotted Sims in the 1700 block of Washington Boulevard "walking on the white line separating the shoulder of the roadway and the No. 3 northbound lane," according to a police booking affidavit.
The police officer attempted to stop Sims, but he continued running. The affidavit says Sims "had to be forcefully taken to the ground, where Shawn continued to stiffen his arms" and continued to keep them under his body "despite officers giving him verbal commands to provide his hands."
"Shawn was ultimately taken into custody, and while in custody I observed Shawn making numerous uncontrolled movements, incoherent statements as well speaking to people who were not present," the arresting officer wrote.
Police say Sims admitted to taking methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl.
Keaton Fuller was pulling up to the stoplight on Washington Boulevard and 17th Street when he saw police running after Sims. He pulled out his cellphone and began recording.
In the video, two of four officers who are holding Sims on the ground appear to throw at least 10 punches combined.
"The viral video of the Ogden police officers beating my son clearly shows him laying on the ground defenseless, not resisting at all. In fact it is believed that he may have been unconscious while two officers beat him in the face and head," Sims mother said.
"I understand that my son was intoxicated. And I understand that my son ran. And even understanding that my son violated his probation … but I dot not … I can't justify what they did to him," she told KSL-TV.
According to court records. Sims pleaded guilty just a week ago to interfering with an arrest in a similar situation. On March 18, Sims was walking in the road on Washington Boulevard near 24th Street. When an officer asked him to get out of the road, Sims "exhibited irrational behavior by cursing, flipping the officer off after asking him to get out of the roadway," charging documents state.
After refusing the officer's commands to move to the sidewalk, "(Sims) was taken to the ground to effect an arrest and (he) refused to give up his left arm so that he could be placed into handcuffs," according to the charges.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in that case next month.
Contributing: Andrew Adams
