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Friends of man shot dead by police in Ogden say he was a different person than what police reported

Posted at 10:06 PM, Nov 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-11 10:00:42-05

OGDEN, Utah - Friends of the man who was shot and killed in Ogden late Friday say they did not remember33-year-old Christopher William Parrish the way police described him.

Ogden Police Chief Randy Watt said in a press conference Saturday that police responded to complaints at a Walmart on 1959 Wall Ave of a man who was acting “suspicious” and even “manic.”

The man, later identified as Parrish, was shot by police during the incident after he allegedly came at officers with a rock.

Talking with Parrish’s friends, they said that’s not how they remember him.

“He was a genuinely really good guy, really helpful,” said Trevor Dites, who said he let Parrish stay at his place and use his truck. 

Dites said he knew Parrish had a record of felonies in Oregon and Arizona, but that he didn’t judge Parrish by his past. 

 “Everything isn’t so black and white and when people hear something, they just run with it in the ugliest way,” said Dites. 

But when things got ugly with police on Friday night, Watt said they opened fire. 

Parrish “picked up a softball size rock and charged at the officers,” said Watt. “The officers employed two tasers, but the tasers were ineffective and the individual continued to attack the officers rapidly and violently with a rock.”

Now dead, Watt said police are looking into the tattoos on Parrish’s arms showing he may have been involved with a white supremacist prison gang. 

As for Dites, he said he his friends are now coping with their loss. 

“I don’t get to hit him up on the weekends and go have a campfire, sit around with everybody and try to barbecue,” said Dites. “Just every single day, he’s not going to be part of it anymore.”