DAVIS COUNTY, Utah -- Family and friends of a Sandy man who was shot and killed by police Friday night are trying to find out what happened.
According Utah Department of Public Safety, Cody Ramseyer, 49, led them on a high-speed chase from Davis to Box Elder County that ended in a standoff, during which Ramseyer was shot by a Willard Police Officer.
FOX 13 News has found new video on YouTube that, by all appearances, is an eyewitness account of part of the incident. A man who pulled up behind police in Willard narrated what he was seeing and documented it all on camera.
“Officers are shooting. A man’s been shot, and he’s down on the ground,” he said just moments before what sounds like gunshots are fired. The eyewitness continues, “He lied down, then he got back up, acted like he was dead. Now, he’s probably dead. The officers took a couple of shots.”
Police have released little information since Friday about what happened, but they said Ramseyer was aggressive and threatening after he crashed his car along I-15 in Willard. Officers used tasers to try to subdue him, but they said the effort was not sufficient, which is why lethal force was used.
At a press conference held outside the Ramseyer home, neighbors stood behind a man they've known for years. Longtime family friend Ted Phillips described Ramseyer as a devoted family man and hardworking businessman.
He said Ramseyer was a, “Loving, larger than life, good Dad.”
In a statement released by the family, who did not wish to be interviewed, they said, “All who knew Cody were impressed with his strong personality and his fierce loyalty to his family.”
Phillips contends Ramseyer never showed any signs of unusual behavior, but did concede his friend was having problems lately.
“He was struggling with some issues and was trying to deal with them as best he could," he said.
A sergeant with the Sandy Police Department said officers had to respond to the Ramseyer home recently, but the officer would not go into greater detail about the incident.
No weapons were found on Ramseyer on Friday, but the State Bureau of Investigation was expected to search his car following the incident. The results of their investigation have not been released.
Fox13 has covered the Ramseyer family in the past. In March of 2012, Ramseyer's 6-year-old granddaughter was killed while crossing a street in Salt Lake City.
