Weber County release video of a man with history of high-speed chases killed in Riverdale
By: Officers with departments and task forces spanning two counties shot and killed a suspect on Sunday who'd led authorities on multiple high-speed chases over several days, Ogden police said.
The Ogden Police Department disclosed some of the details on Tuesday.
OPD Public Information Officer Eric Young said William Toon, 28, was a suspect in a December incident that was reportedly caught on camera. That footage allegedly shows Toon outside a party in Utah County, where he uses a "large pair of scissors" to stab an individual multiple times.
Young said when police located him, he led them on a high-speed chase and was eventually able to evade them. A warrant was issued for his arrest on suspicion of attempted homicide.
Additional details on the stabbing were not provided.
Toon was believed to have left the state between the time of the stabbing and the time authorities received a tip that he had been frequenting a home in Ogden, police said.
Utah County Major Crimes Unit contacted the Weber-Morgan Narcotic Strike Force and Ogden Metro Gang Unit to assist in finding and apprehending Toon, police said.
It was at the Ogden residence that officers with the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Task Force made contact with him on Saturday, and yet again he fled in his vehicle.
Another high-speed pursuit took place. Officers terminated the chase in Kaysville.
On Sunday, the task force and gang unit responded to Riverdale Road in Riverdale after Toon's vehicle was spotted at a Sinclair gas station.
Authorities used their vehicles to block Toon's and prevent him from fleeing again. He was not behind the wheel, though.
Young said an individual, whose identity was not disclosed on Tuesday, was driving Toon's car. That person was taken into custody, but Young couldn't confirm if the individual was charged with any crimes.
Toon was walking into the convenience store, Young said, where three Ogden officers and an officer from Pleasant Grove PD, where the stabbing was being investigated, followed him in to apprehend him.
"Mr. Toone did not cooperate with their efforts to be taken into custody," Young said. "Something took place inside the store that resulted in Mr. Toone being shot by three officers from the Ogden Police Department and one officer from the Pleasant Grove Police Department."
Young didn't say what exactly happened, cutting himself short before saying the word "altercation." However, he did say that investigators did not recover a gun from the scene.
There were also no guns inside Toon's car. Young said there was a significant amount of drugs and cash, though.
Only the Pleasant Grove officer had a body-worn camera, the footage of which was turned over to the Weber County Attorney for an independent investigation.
Surveillance footage from inside the store was also turned over to the county attorney.
Young said the three Ogden officers were not wearing body cameras due to the nature of the gang and narcotics task forces, which include only-recently-changed restrictions from federal law enforcement on what local law enforcement was allowed to record and collect, as well as undercover work among gang members and drug dealers.
The other footage was expected to be released, at least in part, upon the investigation's completion, Young said.
The Ogden officers are on paid administrative leave until then, as well.
It wasn't immediately known how the Pleasant Grove Police Department was handling its investigation, or if the officer will also be on paid administrative leave for an undetermined amount of time.
No other information was immediately released.
Toon has led police on high-speed chases prior to December as well. In 2019, he fled from authorities multiple times after reportedly being seen lighting a car on fire in Orem.
According to a police affidavit filed in that arrest, then-24-year-old Toon was found in his bedroom at his mother's home. She told police that "she believed William would physically fight officers" and that she "preferred officers to locate him while sleeping to avoid a physical altercation."