This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Unified Police officer, wounded in a gunfight with a fugitive who allegedly had shot and killed another UPD officer moments earlier, was in improved condition Monday after undergoing emergency surgery.
Officer Jon Richey, 51, was in fair condition at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. He was recovering from gunshot wounds to both legs, sustained in a firefight that left the suspect, 31-year-old Cory Lee Henderson, dead about 10 a.m. Sunday near 2100 E. 4500 South, in Holladay.
Minutes before and about two blocks away, Henderson allegedly shot Officer Doug Barney, 44, once in the head when Barney confronted him as Henderson attempted to flee the scene of a car crash. Barney died shortly after arrival at the hospital.
Barney is the first U.S. police officer killed in the line of duty in 2016, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. Danville, Ohio, police officer Thomas Cottrell also was shot and killed later Sunday.
UPD Lt. Lex Bell, who had the task Monday of answering reporters questions, said he and Barney, a two-time cancer survivor, were good friends.
"We went to the academy together and were hired together [by UPD] the same day, Jan. 1, 2000," he said. "He was a big fellow, 6-foot-5, and always slapping people on the back. In fact, he just loved people, he was a people person. He'd get you laughing, would cheer you up — even if he was taking you to jail.
"He was the funnest, most boisterous guy you'd ever meeting," Bell added. "Anytime he was in the room, everybody knew it."
Richey was wounded in the same neighborhood he grew up in. His best friend growing up, the late Charles Kirby, also became a police officer. Eris Kirby, the mother of Charles and Tribune columnist Robert Kirby, described Richey as "a sweet, fun loving guy. Very polite and very reserved in a crowd."
Henderson, whose long criminal history included numerous federal and state firearms and drug-related charges, had been paroled from prison on April 28, 2015, after serving 14 months. In June, an arrest warrant was issued for parole violations, and he was arrested and returned to prison in October.
Greg Johnson, spokesman for the Utah Board of Pardons, said Henderson's original release from prison was done under Utah Sentencing Commission guidelines. His third-degree felony conviction for possession of a firearm by a restricted person called for a 0-5 year term, with the guidelines recommending 18 months. Additional time was cut for his completion of a drug treatment program in prison.
"Everything followed according to the guidelines, but it certainly is tragic that he decided to do this," Johnson said.
On Dec. 8, a U.S. magistrate also signed off on the release to the state-run parolee drug treatment center pending court proceedings on new federal firearms allegations. However, Henderson walked away from Adult Probation and Parole's Fortitude Treatment Center, at 1747 S. 900 West, on Dec. 18, according to Utah Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Adams.
A new arrest warrant was issued on Dec. 21, and law enforcement agencies had been looking for Henderson since.
Sunday's bloody events began when a black BMW allegedly ran a red light and struck another car about 9:50 a.m. near 2300 East and 4500 South. Henderson and a white, blonde female passenger got out of the BMW and left the scene of the non-injury accident, police said.
There was one female adult in the car struck by the BMW, and she had minor injuries, Bell said.
Barney responded to the accident, was told Henderson had fled the scene, and soon found and encountered him. Shortly thereafter, neighbors reported hearing a single gunshot, and Barney — a father of three teens, two girls and a boy, and 18-year UPD veteran — lay mortally wounded on the ground as other officers attempted to render aid.
About 10 to 15 minutes later, officers closed in on Henderson. Immediately, Winder said, Henderson and officers exchanged gunfire. While police did not release details on exactly how many shots were fired by each side, neighbors estimated hearing two dozen or more gunshots.
Bell said UPD officers, unlike many of their municipal counterparts, are not yet equipped with body cameras.
The shootings are being investigated by Salt Lake City police detectives. Spokewoman Robin Heiden, noting the investigation had just begun, could not answer questions about how many times Henderson was shot, or where on his body he was wounded.
Details about the kind of handgun Henderson had, and whether it was stolen, also were not immediately released.
Police were still looking for the female "person of interest" who was with Henderson in the car at the time of the crash. By Monday evening, Salt Lake City police said that they had found, interviewed and released her.
"No charges have been screened on the female person of interest," the SLCPD tweeted.
Gov. Gary Herbert ordered the U.S. and Utah flags be lowered on the day of Barney's funeral, which was yet to be set.
Several hours after the concluding firefight, Jaiden Snyder, 18, who identified himself as Henderson's brother, was arrested near the scene after clashing with police.
Police said that he and an older woman, who said she was Henderson's mother, were in a car that drove recklessly into the restricted crime scene. Both were described as distraught and combative; when officers tried to restrain the woman, Snyder allegedly punched one officer and later, after being subdued and while being taken to a police cruiser, head-butted another.
Snyder was booked into the Salt Lake County jail, where he remained Monday on suspicion of assaulting police officers, making violent threats, and for outstanding warrants.
The woman was cited at the scene for interfering with police and released, UPD stated.
Twitter: @remims UPD Officer Barney is the 11th Salt Lake County Sheriff deputy/officer to be killed in the line of duty. •
Rodney Badger, 1853
Thomas Manderich, 1913
James D. Hulsey, 1913
Nephi S. Jensen, 1913
George O. Witbeck, 1913
Gordon A. Stuart, 1922
Oscar Fullmer, 1928
Mckay C. Jewkes, 1959
Melvin Colebrook, 1973
Michael S. Welcker, 1994
Doug Barney, 2016
— Source: Utah Law Enforcement Memorial A candlelight vigil for officers Doug Barney and Jon Richey is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday at 2300 E. Murray Holladay Road in Holladay, according to the Unified Police Department. Salt Lake Comic Con is donating half of its ticket sales through the end of Tuesday to help the families of officers Doug Barney and Jon Richey.