SALT LAKE CITY — In the wake of the recent tragedy in Tremonton, a look at Utah's history shows six previous incidents where multiple law enforcement officers died on the same day, according to utahsfallen.org.
The first such incident occurred when Grand County Sheriff Jesse Tyler and Deputy Samuel Jenkins were killed in a confrontation with "Kid Curry," a member of the Wild Bunch gang with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Curry was reportedly seeking revenge for the deaths of relatives.
Nov. 21, 1913, marked a devastating day when three officers were killed. John W. Grant, a marshal with the now-defunct Bingham Police Department in Salt Lake County, died alongside Salt Lake County Sheriff's deputies Nephi Jensen and George Whitbeck, all killed by the same murder suspect. Tragically, a week later, the same suspect killed two more officers: James Hulsey and Thomas Manderoch from Salt Lake County.
On Feb. 16, 1924, Salt Lake City Police officers William Huntsman and Bingham H. Honey Jr. lost their lives when they encountered a robbery suspect.
In Cache County, August 1959 saw Logan Officer Edwin Edwards and Cache County Deputy Alma Sorensen killed in the same traffic accident.
The most recent multiple-fatality incident before the Tremonton tragedy occurred in December 1987, when tribal police officers Andy Begay and Roy L. Stanley were found in a burned-out police vehicle on the Navajo reservation.
These historical incidents highlight the rarity and severity of days when multiple officers make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty in Utah.
