ST. GEORGE — St. George News has obtained video from several security cameras at the Utah Port of Entry on the morning an 83-year-old-man was shot and killed by police. However, surveillance video from the actual moment of the shooting is missing.
Update Aug. 25, 2 p.m. Information from search warrant, including further details of events leading to shooting.
Raymond Derek Gladman, a resident of Sedona, Arizona, was shot after a nearly two-hour confrontation with port workers and police the morning of Aug. 3. The Utah Highway Patrol said it responded to reports of a passenger vehicle driving erratically, and St. George Police personnel were called in for additional support after reports the driver had a weapon.
Watch portions of the surveillance video from the Port of Entry at the top of this report.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Washington County Critical Incident Task Force, which handles police shooting incidents. The St. George Police officer who fatally shot Gladman remains on leave.
Along with the video, St. George News has also obtained a search warrant that was obtained to search the vehicle in the hours after the shooting that provides additional information on what police say was Gladman’s behavior along with weapons and ammunition that was found in the vehicle.
The two hours of footage, which has no sound and was recorded from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. through eight different cameras at the port, show the white Toyota Prius driven by Gladman entering and, for a time, driving in circles in the northbound Port of Entry on Interstate 15. That is followed by port workers speaking with Gladman for around 20 minutes.
Highway patrol officers move in, followed by St. George Police and its SWAT team. At the moment Gladman is stepping out of the vehicle, the recording stops for all eight cameras. The recording resumes 2-12 minutes later, depending on the camera, showing the aftermath of the shooting.
The missing minutes correspond with the time, 8:40 a.m., when Gladman was shot and killed, according to police and also the time the sound of gunfire was heard at the site.
St. George News obtained the footage through a Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) request with the Utah Department of Transportation. A similar GRAMA request to the St. George Police for body camera footage was denied, with police citing that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Under GRAMA, enacted in 1991, Utah government agencies are required to provide access to most records and information by request to the public. The law also states that a government entity is required to provide an official response that would say if anything was withheld or redacted.
The video records provided to St. George News did not include a response on if anything was redacted or withheld or a reason why anything would be.
Mandy Knowlden, records officer for the UDOT, told St. George News that the missing footage was because of a function of the cameras not operating without movement.
“The response I had received is that if there is no movement the recording will cease until move occurs again,” Knowlden said.
The recording from each camera stopped at a different time between 8:12 a.m. and 8:39 a.m., but none of the eight recordings showed anything between 8:39 a.m. and 8:41 a.m.
One camera, in an empty inspection office, showed no movement for several periods during the two hours, but the recording continued. Other cameras, after the recording had stopped, showed people and objects in different positions than they had been when the recording resumed.
“I have no idea at this point,” Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said when asked by St. George News if there was a reason why those minutes were missing.
Clarke said the footage is still being reviewed and he will have the ultimate decision on whether to pursue any action against the officer who shot Gladman if the task force determines there was any wrongdoing.
Clarke has previously said the investigation has determined that Gladman had a weapon in his hands at the time he was shot. The attorney would not say if he had seen any footage of the actual shooting.
“I’m not going to discuss anything that specific until I’ve wrapped my head around what we have.”
Highlights of footage
The first sign of the white Prius in the Utah Port of Entry comes at 7:04 a.m., when the vehicle is seen reflected in the windows of the port offices. The Prius then is seen making loops around the Port of Entry, stopping at times to allow trucks and other commercial vehicles to pass.
At the time, police said the occupant was driving erratically, and that was the reason officers were called out.
At 7:11 a.m., the vehicle stops and two port workers are seen beginning to have a conversation with the driver of the vehicle. At 7:16 a.m., the vehicle makes one more loop around the port and parks in one of the two employee parking lots.
The two workers then come out to the vehicle, with one bringing some kind of pamphlet. The driver and the workers then speak with the driver for 19 minutes. At times, the workers can be seen laughing.
At 7:35 a.m., Utah Highway Patrol vehicles can be seen arriving at the Utah Port of Entry. Two minutes later, at least three UHP officers are seen approaching the vehicle with hands on their holsters, and the port workers back off.
St. George Police have previously said troopers backed off after seeing Gladman brandishing a weapon and set up containment positions while they notified dispatch requesting additional resources from local agencies and trained crisis negotiators.
In the recording at 7:51 a.m., St. George Police begin to arrive. Six minutes later, an officer began speaking with the driver, who could be seen making arm and hand gestures in return. The back-and-forth with the officer, who at times was carrying a shield, continued for the next 39 minutes.
Police confirmed a crisis negotiator opened a dialogue with Gladman. At the time, a black SWAT armored vehicle was seen stationed about 20 yards from the vehicle.
At 8:10 a.m., the recording from inside the Port of Entry office showed snipers through the windows beginning to take positions and aim their rifles. Inside separated by the glass, several port workers were seen laughing and carrying on a conversation.
Seven minutes later, a St. George Police officer could be seen coming in and waving the workers to evacuate. About 15 minutes later, at 8:32 a.m., SWAT officers could be seen rushing by the building and taking positions.
At 8:36 a.m., the driver of the Prius begins opening the driver-side door, and the officer that had been seen speaking with the driver backs off.
At 8:39 a.m., the driver began to step out.
Then all of the recordings cease.
its driver was shot by police, St. George, Utah, Aug. 7, 2022 | Photo courtesy Utah Department of Transportation, St. George News
St. George Police said the driver, identified as Gladman, was shot by an officer in a sniper position at 8:40 a.m. At the time, a muffled sound of gunfire emanating from the Utah side was heard from the Arizona Port of Entry on the other side of I-15.
When the recording of a camera aimed at the employee parking lot resumes at 8:42 a.m., the driver appears slumped back, with his two legs sticking out of the vehicle as officers move in.
At 8:55 a.m., a Gold Cross Ambulance is seen parking next to the SWAT vehicle, but quickly departs without a patient. Police said Gladman was declared dead at the scene.
Information from search warrant
St. George News has obtained an unsealed search warrant filed with the 5th District Court that authorized a search of the vehicle after the shooting.
The warrant states that according to the St. George Police detective who filed it, a call came in at 7:17 a.m. for a man driving a 2017 white Prius “up and down the onramp to the I-15 north bound port of entry (sic)” and told port workers that he was trying to get to Seattle, Washinton, but would not provide his name because he didn’t trust anyone.”
It says that as officers approached that the male, not identified by name, had a black handgun in his hand and at times pointed it at his head.
During the course of negotiation with officers, the warrant says, the male placed the gun on the dashboard. A short time later, the detectives describes the male as getting out of the vehicle, putting the gun back in his hand.
“A St. George Police Officer (sic) observed the male to be pointing the weapon towards other officers,” the warrant says. “In response the officer fired his weapon at the male, striking him.”
Once the area was deemed safe, officers approached the vehicle and determined the male was deceased. He was seen with his legs out through the open driverside door, laying on the center console.
The search warrant, after it was granted, resulted in 11 items collected by police. That included a Springfield XD-S handgun, a Sionics AR-16 rifle, a bullet casing from the rifle, two magazines for the rifle with 49 rounds and a magazine for the handgun, though it doesn’t say if any bullets were found in the magazine.
There were 28 Winchester 9mm handgun rounds found in the glove compartment. A bullet slug was also found on the floorboard.
The task force is continuing its investigation into the incident, with Clarke saying last Tuesday that he expected it to wrap up in the next two weeks.
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