A man making threats against the Clean Harbors hazardous waste disposal facility near Aragonite was shot by law enforcement officers and died Sunday morning.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect Tuesday morning as Barry Michael Zumwalt, 36, of West Valley City.
The Tooele County Sheriff’s Office and Utah Highway Patrol were dispatched to the remote incinerator facility around 6:30 a.m. after employees said a suspicious man threatened to blow up the facility’s propane tanks, according to Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer.
The incident began after two employees at the facility spoke with Zumwalt outside the entrance and asked if he needed help, according to a release from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. Zumwalt declined assistance but followed other employees into the fenced perimeter at Clean Harbors a short time later.
Clean Harbors employees reported they approached Zumwalt after he passed the fence and told him to leave, according to Utah County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Spencer Cannon. After he was asked to leave, Zumwalt initiated a physical confrontation with employees and threatened to blow them up.
During the altercation, Zumwalt raised his arms, exposing a holstered gun to the employees, according to Cannon. A call to dispatch reported the man had a handgun and knife, according to Wimmer.
A sheriff’s deputy and trooper arrived together at the facility about 15 minutes after the call from dispatch, Wimmer said. When law enforcement officers exited their cars and confronted Zumwalt, they gave several commands, Cannon said.
Zumwalt, armed with a rifle and handgun, refused to cooperate and threatened the officers, Cannon said. The deputy and trooper opened fire from about 160 feet away and struck the West Valley City man.
After the shots were fired, the injured Zumwalt crawled under his vehicle and the responding officers did not approach, Wimmer said. Due to threats the suspect had made, it was unknown if he had explosives with him or in his vehicle. A bomb squad was called to respond to the scene.
The bomb squad used a robot but were unable to receive a response from Zumwalt and eventually a SWAT team was called to approach the vehicle, Wimmer said. It was then determined the suspect was deceased, though the sheriff’s office said the cause of death is still under investigation.
It took a couple hours for Zumwalt’s condition to be determined due to the time it took the bomb squad and SWAT team to assemble and drive to the scene, Wimmer said.
Investigators know of no connections Zumwalt had to Clean Harbors at this time, Cannon said. Zumwalt had a history of mental health struggles, he said.
An autopsy was performed on Zumwalt’s body by the state medical examiner and results are expected later this week, Cannon said.
The deputy and trooper have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation into the shooting, according to Wimmer. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the outside investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
Tooele County’s last officer-involved shooting occurred in Stansbury Park in December 2014, involving a Tooele County Sheriff’s deputy. The Tooele County Attorney’s Office ruled the shooting was justified as the suspect had pointed a handgun at the deputy.