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KEARNS — Three Unified police officers were legally justified when they shot and killed a man in a shootout while responding to a domestic violence call, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.
While Unified police had originally said Aaron Lee Zimmerman, 46, was shot after brandishing a gun, District Attorney Sim Gill revealed Wednesday that Zimmerman had actually fired four rounds at officers from close range while hiding behind a garbage can.
"Investigators were unable to determine who fired first, but determined that the four rounds Mr. Zimmerman likely fired seemed to follow Sgt. (Lindee) Dawson's movement during the incident," the district attorney's report states.
Gill says the three officers fired 18 to 22 shots at Zimmerman and an autopsy determined he died "from multiple gunshot wounds."
Zimmerman was shot just after midnight on Aug. 24, 2023, in front of a house near 6789 Palm Frond Court (5900 West), just south of Kearns.
Officers were first called to the home about 9 p.m. on Aug. 23 on a report that Zimmerman was "intoxicated and verbally aggressive" with people in the home, according to Gill's report. Zimmerman had been dating a woman in the home and occasionally slept in the garage of the home. Unified Police Chief Jason Mazuran said five officers responded to what ended up being more of a public intoxication incident than a domestic violence call.
Zimmerman was handcuffed and put in the back of a police patrol car. He did not have any weapons on him. Ultimately, officers released Zimmerman to a neighbor under the notion that he would not spend the night in the home where the 911 call was made, the report states. But about two hours later, police were called back to the same residence where Zimmerman had returned and was again "being aggressive" with a woman and her son.
In body camera videos released Wednesday, Dawson and officers Jesus Camacho and Quin Wilkins arrive at the home and began looking for Zimmerman in the garage.
"As Sgt. Dawson looked around the side of (the) garage, a noise — which protocol investigators later determined to be the sound of a holster hitting the ground — is heard, and she immediately shined her light on the neighbor's garbage can and moved toward it," according to the report.
In the driveway of the adjacent home, just a few feet away, officers spot a man crouched behind a trash can. Within seconds, all three officers drew their weapons and started backing up while yelling at Zimmerman, "Drop the … gun!"
"Mr. Zimmerman and the officers then exchanged gunfire," the report states. "The time between when officers first started calling out to Mr. Zimmerman in the garage and when shots began was approximately 17 seconds."
Gill on Wednesday showed videos and pictures that appear to show the shots fired by Zimmerman following Dawson's movement as she and the other officers seek cover behind a parked vehicle. The shots appeared to have narrowly missed the police sergeant.
After the gunfire stopped, the officers waited for additional officers to arrive to approach Zimmerman with a shield. After determining he was no longer a threat, the officers gave medical attention to Zimmerman, but he died at the scene.
