Internal Investigation Summary

To: CC: From: Date: Re: Chief Mike Ashment Assistant Chief Wayne Tarwater Assistant Chief Eric Young January 17, 2013 Ogden Police Case 12-102845

Synopsis
On Thursday, December 20, 2012, at 0124 hours, the Weber 911 Consolidated Dispatch received a message through the AM Interagency Message System. The message was from United States Army Deserter Point. The message was a notification to Ogden City Police and the Weber County Sheriffs Office that Derek Billmire had deserted from the US Army and there was a felony no bond warrant for his arrest entered in the NCIC system. The message gave an address for Mr. Billmires mother at 1033 Harrod. The message requested attempt to locate and any agency that took him into custody to hold him and arrangements would be made for him to be extradited. There was a physical description of Derek, but no further information. It was quickly determined that 1033 Harrod was a typo for 1033 Harrop, which is within Ogden City. The dispatcher who received the message contacted the on-duty patrol sergeant and advised him of the message. The sergeant confirmed the validity and researched the name Derek Billmire and the address of 1033 Harrop and found no history in our records system. The Watch Commander was off duty prior to the officers responding to 1033 Harrop. The sergeant subsequently instructed on duty patrol officers from his squad to respond to 1033 Harrop and located Mr. Billmire. Several of the officers located Mr. Billmires drivers license information on their Mobile Date Terminals before arriving at the address. This allowed them to view a picture of Derek Billmire and there was an address in Harrisville for him. The officers took note of the alternate address, but continued to the Harrop address because it was the address the Army asked them to check and it was noted as his mothers address on the message not his address. Six patrol units responded to the address one of which was a two officer unit with an officer in training. None of the officers including the sergeant had previous experience with this type of warrant. The officers discussed the nature of the warrant and believed there was a high likelihood that Mr. Billmire may possess weapons and have special training in their use. They also believed Mr. Billmire may not want to return to the Army and meet them with resistance. The officers decided to deploy three patrol rifles and one shotgun loaded with less than lethal bean bag rounds.

The officers placed themselves on each side of the front and rear of the home. The officer handling the incident approached the front door and knocked. The officer identified himself as the police while knocking. Mr. Hill opened the door with a baseball bat raised above his head. The officer again stated police and was instructed to put the bat away and walk outside and he complied. Officers believed he was Derek Billmire and told him that he was going to be detained in handcuffs until they could verify his identity. The man stated repeatedly that he was Eric Hill not Derek Billmire. The officers advised him that he was only being detained until they could learn his identity. Mr. Hill asked the officers to come in the house because it was cold. Inside the house, Mr. Hills wife was able to provide his Utah Driver License and he was immediately released from handcuffs and apologized to repeatedly. The Hills told the officers they had purchased the home from Tina Billmire several months ago. The officers again apologized for the disruption and mistaken identity. Officers also consoled one of the girls that had been crying and Mrs. Hill joked with the officers about having something good to tell her co-workers around the water cooler the next day. Another girl asked an officer about the equipment on his duty belt and he explained what the items were. The officers left the home believing the Hills understood the reason for the mistake and accepted their apologies. The supervisor conducted further research on the address in Harrisville and found police report information that caused him to believe this was a current address for Mr. Billmire. The supervisor instructed the handling officer to contact Harrisville Police and make them aware of the address and warrant. The officer on-duty in Harrisville was busy with another called and asked the Ogden Officers to go to the Harrisville address and serve the warrant. The officers responded to Harrisville and located Mr. Billmire. He was booked into the Weber County Jail and subsequently released to the custody of the Army to resolve the charges.

Complaint
Eric Hill spoke with Chief Mike Ashment briefly. He expressed his displeasure regarding the actions of the officers at his house on December 20, 2012. Mr. Hill was encouraged to come to the department and complete a complaint. Mr. Hill has not completed a complaint. I have both attempted to contact Mr. Hill to explain that this investigation was taking place and encourage him to cooperate in providing information. He has not returned any of the several calls that were placed to him with messages with our contact information being left on each occasion. The only sources for Mr. Hills complaints are the interviews he has sought with local media outlets. I reviewed those reports and found the following complaints:

The officers at their house were dressed all in black. The officers were equipped with two shotguns and three rifles. The officers yelled at him that he was Derek Hill. An officer said in reference to Mr. Hill accessing a gun we would have wasted you or we would have blown you away. Several officers pointed their rifles or shotguns at him and held a gun on him while he was sitting on his couch.

Investigation
The investigation included interviews with the sergeant that had been on duty and all officers that responded to the address. I contacted the Army Deserter Point Center that sent the message. The research that was conducted into best practices and policies is detailed below.

Research Projects
I assigned three lieutenants with research projects on best policies and practices. Lt. Will Cragun was tasked with reviewing the Ogden Police patrol rifle and shotgun policies drawing comparisons to other law enforcement agencies' best practices, policies and procedures. Lt. Kevin Cottrell was assigned to research Watch Commander staffing practices for similar sized agencies both within and outside Utah. Lt. Danielle Croyle was tasked with a review of the Ogden Police policy on arrest warrants and make comparisons to other law enforcement agencies both within and outside Utah.

Lt. Cragun reviewed police patrol rifle policies and procedures from six Utah police agencies, two from out of state and one civilian/military expert. He also made contact with a firearms expert from each Utah police department. He found that the Ogden Police policy was consistent with other policies in place in police agencies. Lt. Cottrell contacted eight police departments within Utah and three from outside Utah and reviewed their procedure for Watch Commander staffing. This review revealed that Ogden Citys current Watch Commander scheduling is consistent with several agencies of similar size as the Ogden Police Department. There was a wide variety of staffing options found in the review. Lt. Croyle reviewed arrest warrant policies and procedures from eight police departments inside Utah, including the Weber County Sheriffs Office. The Weber County Sheriffs Office uses the Lexipol model which is used is several other departments throughout the state. She also contacted Huntley, Illinois PD, Houston PD and Metro Washington, DC PD in reference to their policies.
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Lt. Croyle found that the Ogden Police policy on arrest warrants is very similar if not the same as the rest of these agencies. It is typical for police agencies to have very detailed policies for search warrant planning and execution, but rely on State Code for guidance on serving arrest warrants.

Findings

I found no violations of Utah State Law or Ogden Police policy. Utah State Code 77-7-5 states Felony Warrants may be served any time day or night. Misdemeanor warrants may be served only between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm. The officers who responded to 1033 Harrop on December 20, 2012, behaved reasonably and professionally. They treated the Hill family with respect and courtesy.

The officers reasonably believed Mr. Hill was Derek Billmire when he was placed into handcuffs until his identity was known. Officers explained that Mr. Hill wasnt under arrest and told me the reason for the detention was to prevent the situation from escalating. The Hills' complaints garnered from media interviews are: o The officers at their house were dressed all in black. Unfounded Each officer wore an Ogden City Police Department patrol uniform. o The officers were equipped with two shotguns and three rifles. The officers were equipped with three patrol rifles and one shotgun. o The officers yelled at him that he was Derek Hill. Unfounded Every officer clearly said the encounter was not confrontational and they did not yell. o An officer said in reference to Mr. Hill accessing a gun we would have wasted you or we would have blown you away Unfounded Every officer on scene stated that no comments of this nature were made. o Several officers pointed their rifles or shotguns at him and held a gun on him while he was sitting on his couch. Unfounded - The only officer who raised his weapon was Officer Gardiner while Mr. Hill was at the door with the bat in his possession.

Recommendations/Actions

The Ogden Police Department should revisit our policies on arrest warrant service to require the use of all available resources to research the suspect and address on the warrant prior to a pre-planned service. These policies exist in our Search Warrant policy and could be expanded to planned services of arrest warrants. We should implement a requirement to contact the Watch Commander prior to serving a preplanned arrest warrant after 10:00 pm. The Watch Commander should weigh the danger of the wanted subject against the risk involved in the planned service in determining if the warrant will be served.