An Ohio policeman was fatally shot by a man who went out “looking to kill an officer.” And a parolee wanted for federal firearms charges killed a Utah officer when he tried to stop the man from fleeing the scene of a vehicle collision.
The two deaths, which occurred Sunday, are the first line-of-duty deaths of law enforcement officers this year. Union representatives say the killings underscore the danger that police face and highlight their concerns about balancing criminal justice reforms and keeping their communities safe.
Unified Police Department Officer Douglas Barney was working an overtime shift to help pay for his cancer treatments when he was gunned down Sunday morning in a suburb of Salt Lake City. The 18-year veteran officer was assisting others in a search to locate two people who reportedly had been involved in a vehicle collision in Holladay, Utah, and fled the scene.
Officer Barney located Cory Lee Henderson, 31, shortly after the crash, and at that point was shot in the head. The 44-year-old father of three died hours later at a hospital.
Police have disclosed little about interactions between the two that preceded the fatal shooting, but officials said Henderson was out on parole for firearms charges and recently had fled a state rehab facility.
Henderson was killed in a shootout with other officers after they responded to the scene. Officer Jon Richey, 51, was injured in that incident when he was shot in the legs during the firefight.
While Salt Lake City-area police are mourning the loss of one of their officers, police also are questioning whether Henderson should have been out of jail.
“This guy was a longtime frequent-flier felon,” said Utah State Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Ian Adams. “It’s terrifying, and it should be one of the things that is looked at — why are we allowing somebody who so frequently is found in possession of firearms, why is he allowed on the street? Why is he being allowed pretrial release after pretrial release?”
Henderson had multiple firearms and drug-related charges and had been sentenced to both federal and state prisons, according to court records. Most recently, he had served 14 months after being convicted of possession of a firearm by a restricted person. He was paroled in April 2015, and his sentence was shortened for the completion of a drug-treatment program.
“Everything followed according to the guidelines, but it certainly is tragic that he decided to do this,” Greg Johnson, spokesman for the Utah Board of Pardons, told the Salt Lake Tribune.
Henderson violated the conditions of his parole and a warrant was issued for his arrest in June. He was arrested and went back to prison in October. Last month, he was ordered to a state-run parolee drug treatment center while court proceedings on new federal firearms allegations were pending. Within days, he disappeared from the rehab facility, which allows parolees to make visits to school, to work or to see family. A warrant had been out for his arrest since Dec. 21.
Hours after Officer Barney’s death Sunday, an Ohio police officer lost his life in an ambush attack.
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Officer Thomas Cottrell of the Danville Police Department in Ohio was fatally shot by a man who reportedly had set out to kill a police officer. Police received a call from a woman around 11:20 p.m. Sunday saying local officers were “in danger” as her ex-boyfriend, Herschel Ray Jones, had “left with weapons and was looking to kill an officer,” according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Department.
About 30 minutes later, first responders found Officer Cottrell dead behind a municipal building. He had been shot, and both his service weapon and police cruiser were stolen.
The sheriff’s office said Mr. Jones was taken into custody early Monday after a foot chase by officers. According to Ohio court records, he has a lengthy criminal history including burglary and firearms convictions. Charges have yet to be filed against Mr. Jones in connection with Officer Cottrell’s death.
The president of Ohio’s Fraternal Order of Police said law enforcement officers from across the state were mourning Officer Cottrell’s death.
“His assassination is the latest reminder of how dangerous police work is and how the police are targeted for violence,” FOP President Jay McDonald said.
The Police Officer Memorial Page lists the deaths of Officer Barney and Officer Cottrell as the first on-duty deaths this year.
Last year a total of 124 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2015, including 42 officers who were killed by gunfire, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. That’s a 4 percent increase from 2014, when 119 officers were killed.
⦁ This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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