SALT LAKE CITY — It has been one year since Brooklyn Tyree was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend and left in the desert in Tooele County. Following her death, Tyree's family demanded an investigation into the Salt Lake City Police Department, claiming Brooklyn’s disappearance wasn’t taken seriously.
“We were fearful from the very beginning and we never thought we got appropriate, immediate response,” said Brooklyn’s sister, Deanna.
Deanna said that when her family shared their fears with the police department, their concerns were dismissed.
“They refused anything that we tried to show messages, any proof that there as immediate reason for her – that she was in danger,” she said.
Two days later, Brooklyn’s body was found, with 29-year-old Brandon Zipperle eventually admitting that he shot the mother of his son.
Within a week, a 10-page complaint was sent to the mayor and police department with the help of former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson.
The Police Civilian Review Board was assigned to investigate the involved officers’ behavior and on Wednesday the board released its findings.
The board said there’s not enough evidence to determine if an officer was not courteous or professional in their interactions with the family. However, they found three officers were in violation of policy or procedure with what was called an unsatisfactory work performance.
“We’re happy to see something’s being done," said Deanna. "That some attention comes to the fact that you don’t dismiss people, you at least have human decency and you take them seriously."
However, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said the department launched its own internal affairs investigation and said those officers “did a good job.” He said they were “tenacious” and “followed up on every lead they could.” The department’s own investigation found that the officers did not violate any policy or procedure.
Despite the different findings, Brown said that he respects and appreciates the Police Civilian Review Board.
“We got some preliminary information, and then we were called back. We built upon that and that’s what we do. We investigate, we find those facts and leads that we can follow-up on. I think in Brooklyn’s case, we did everything we could to find her and hopefully save her life, but unfortunately at the end of the day she had been killed two days before we even got the initial call,” said Brown.
