Upoa fallen Peace Officer Trail Moab, Utah April 8-9, 2015 Mile Marker #1 Trooper Dennis L. Lund

Age 37
Utah Highway Patrol

Trooper Lund was murdered by two teenage boys attempting to flee from a gas theft at Thompson Springs in Grand County. The 37-year-old victim was one of several officers in high-speed pursuit of the suspects on Interstate 70. While one suspect drove, the other fired at officers with a .22-caliber rifle.  Several miles west of Green River, Trooper Lund was struck in the left eye by a bullet that pierced his windshield. He managed to steer his patrol car safely off the freeway before succumbing to his wound. The two suspects were apprehended moments later when a tire on their vehicle was shot out by other officers. Both were convicted of murder remain incarcerated today. Trooper Lund left a wife and two children. He is buried in West Weber Cemetery

Age 32
West Jordan Police Department

Officer Rees was killed in a training accident. While on duty, the 32-year-old victim and other officers were practicing weapon retention techniques at the West Jordan Police Department. When the instructor, acting the part of an assailant grabbed the victim’s .38-caliber revolver, it discharged and struck the victim in the upper right chest. Although airlifted to a hospital, Officer Rees died a few hours later. Officer Rees was married and the father of three children. He is buried in Valley View Memorial Park.

North Salt Lake Police Department

Officer Skinner died of injuries suffered while responding to a call for assistance from another agency pursuing a stolen car.  The pursuit began in Bountiful in the early morning hours of November 3. At 2300 S. Highway 89, the 30-year-old victim lost control of his patrol vehicle on a rain-slick road. The vehicle collided with the concrete base of a business sign. Officer Skinner was flown to a hospital with severe head injuries. He died five days later. Officer Skinner was married and the father of three-week-old twins. He is buried in Bountiful City Cemetery. 

Age 30
Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office

The first Utah police officer to die in the line of duty drowned during a rescue attempt. Deputy Badger, 29, was sent to the Weber River to assist immigrant companies fording the river during heavy spring runoff. When a wagon became stranded in the middle of the river, Deputy Badger swam out to it and rescued a woman and four children. During a final trip back to shore with two other children, he was swept away and drowned. His body and those of the two children were discovered 18 months later on a sandbar more than a mile downstream. Survived by his wife and four children, Deputy Badger is buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Age 37
Utah Territorial Prison

Warden Burgher succumbed to injuries sustained while attempting to prevent an escape from the territorial prison. On the afternoon of March 14, the 37-year-old victim escorted an inmate work detail outside the gates of the prison. While both interior and outer doors were open, the inmates bludgeoned the warden with “slung shots,” (large rocks placed inside woolen socks). He died of a fractured skull in the early morning hours of March 16. The escaping prisoners were recaptured by trustees and posse members. Returned to prison, they escaped again two months later. In the process, they murdered a trustee who attempted to spread the alarm and who was serving time for the murder of Provo Marshal Albert O. H. Bowen three years earlier. The prisoners were not recaptured. Warden Burgher was single. He is buried at Fort Douglas Cemetery. 

Age 33
Salt Lake City Police Department

Sergeant Heaps was shot and killed while investigating a suspicious person call. At approximately 9: 25 p.m., the 32-year-old victim and two other officers responded to the area of 1300 South 300 East. They contacted the occupants of a motor home, unaware that one of them was wanted for the October 2, 1981, murder of California Highway Patrol Officer John Martinez. When the officers inquired regarding the ownership of the motor home, the wanted suspect produced a 9mm pistol and began firing. Sergeant Heaps was struck between the panels of his body armor and died within a few minutes. Although wounded, the second officer shot and killed the suspect. Another suspect attempting to flee the area was shot and killed by the third officer. Sergeant Heaps was married and the father of four children. He is buried in Alpine City Cemetery. 

Age 50
Roosevelt Police Department

Chief Gurr was shot and killed at a convenience store in Ballard. The 50-year-old victim and several other officers responded to the store on a report of a man attempting to force a female acquaintance into a pickup truck. Officers approached scene as the man and the woman were driving out of the parking lot. The suspect fired upon the officers with an assault rifle. Chief Gurr was returning fire when struck in the head and instantly killed. The suspect then forced the woman to drive away. A few blocks from the scene the woman managed to throw the rifle from the truck. The vehicle was then boxed in and the unarmed suspect subdued by officers. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Chief Gurr was married and the father of three children. He is buried in Roosevelt Memorial Park.

Age 27
Navajo Department of Public Safety

The bodies of Officer Stanley and Officer Andy Begay were discovered inside a burned-out tribal police vehicle in Copper Canyon, an isolated area near Lake Powell. The two officers were handcuffed and shot, but had in fact died in the fire.  Subsequent investigation revealed that during the night Officer Stanley, 27, had been overpowered by the participants of an alcohol party near Goulding, Utah. He was then forced to call Officer Begay, 35, to the scene. Upon arrival of the second officer, both victims were shot and placed in the rear of a patrol unit. Their vehicles were driven into Copper Canyon with the intention of dumping them into Lake Powell. However, when the vehicles became stuck in the sand, they were set ablaze. Although cultural differences hampered the investigation, four suspects were arrested three months later and charged with the murders. The case against one suspect was eventually dropped. One suspect was acquitted. The remaining two were convicted of first-degree murder. Both are serving life sentences in federal prison. Officer Stanley was married and the father of a son. His wife was expecting their second child at the time of his death. He is buried in Monument Valley Cemetery.

Age 36
Navajo Department of Public Safety

The bodies of Officer Begay and Officer Stanley were discovered inside a burned-out tribal police vehicle in Copper Canyon, an isolated area near Lake Powell. The two officers were handcuffed and shot, but had in fact died as a result of the fire. Subsequent investigation revealed that during the night Officer Stanley, 27, had been overpowered by the participants of an alcohol party near Goulding, Utah. He was then forced to call Officer Begay, 35, to the scene. Upon arrival of the second officer, both victims were shot and placed in the rear of one of their patrol units. Their vehicles were driven into Copper Canyon with the intention of dumping them into Lake Powell. However, when the vehicles became stuck in the sand, they were set ablaze. Although cultural differences hampered the investigation, four suspects were arrested three months later and charged with the murders. The case against one suspect was eventually dropped. One suspect was acquitted. The remaining two defendants were convicted of first-degree murder. Both are serving life sentences in federal prison. Officer Begay was married and the father of four children. He is buried in Blanding City Cemetery. 

Age 26
Emery County Sheriff’s Office

Deputy Hansen was killed in a traffic crash on Highway 6, approximately 25 miles west of Green River. Shortly before 7:00 a.m., the 26-year-old victim was finishing a graveyard shift when he crossed the centerline of the highway and collided head-on with a semi-truck. The driver of the truck was not injured. Deputy Hansen was killed instantly. Survived by his wife and two children, Deputy Hansen is buried in Huntington City Cemetery.

Cedar City Police Department

Chief Davis died as the result of an accidental gunshot wound received March 24. As he was checking off-duty, the 50-year-old victim was removing the shotgun from his department vehicle. As he pulled the weapon toward himself muzzle-first, is discharged. Chief Davis was struck in the abdomen. Although surgeons worked around the clock to save his life, Chief Davis died two days later. He was married and the father of two children. 

Age 42
Davis County Sheriff’s Office

Deputy Jensen was murdered while assisting what he believed was a stranded motorist. The 42-year-old victim was dispatched to watch for a vehicle connected to an armed robbery in Ogden. Near Tippets Lane he encountered a stalled vehicle on the side of the road. Deputy Jensen was seated in his patrol car and talking to a man he believed was the driver of the vehicle but was in reality one of the robbery suspects. The suspect shot the victim officer five times with a .38-caliber handgun. A second suspect then shot the victim in the head with a .22 magnum pistol. The two men stole Deputy Jensen’s sidearm and vehicle, using them to carjack a second vehicle. They were captured the following day in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Both men were sentenced to life in prison but have since been paroled. Deputy Jensen is buried in Farmington City Cemetery. 

Age 63
Echo Police Department

Constable Stagg, 62, and Uinta County (WY) Deputy Dawes, 43, were killed in a gun battle near the Wyoming border. The victims were part of a four-man posse alerted to watch for two suspects who had attempted to murder the Summit County sheriff. Receiving word that the suspects were hiding in a cabin on Duck Creek, approximately 12 miles west of Evanston, the posse surrounded the cabin in the early morning hours. At dawn, a gun battle erupted. One of the suspects suffered a minor wound. Constable Stagg was shot in the throat and died immediately. Deputy Dawes was shot through the lungs. Their ammunition exhausted, the two remaining posse members withdrew. Following a massive manhunt and another gun battle, the two suspects were captured in Tooele County on August 5.  One suspect was convicted and subsequently executed by firing squad in 1896. The second suspect was sentenced to prison and paroled in 1902. Constable Stagg left a wife and several grown children. He is buried in Echo Junction Cemetery.

Died on January 28, 2005

Salt Lake City Police Department