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SALT LAKE CITY — A police officer who was injured during a deadly shootout that killed another officer last year was found dead in his Salt Lake home Saturday, making him the third Unified police officer to die in less than a month.
Unified police officer Jon Richey, 52, was discovered when officers were dispatched to his home Saturday morning for a welfare check after he didn't show up for work, according to Salt Lake Police Lt. Robin Heiden.
Richey, who has been with the Unified Police Department since 2007, was found alone inside with no obvious signs of distress, Heiden said. Salt Lake police are handling the investigation and the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office will determine a cause of death.
News of Richey's death came as officers were attending funeral services for Unified police detective Brian Holdaway, who suffered a medical condition at the sheriff’s office building and died on Feb. 2. Fellow Unified police detective Brooks Green died Jan. 25 following a "sudden cardiac event" near his home.
"As we were preparing for the funeral (for detective) Holdaway, we learned of the passing of officer Jon Richey," Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke posted on the department's Twitter account. "Our thoughts are with their families."
Saturday evening, the department released a statement on the deaths.
"Based on the information we currently have, these deaths are not related; they are tragedies that unfortunately strike families like our own," the statement reads. "To protect the integrity of ongoing investigations and the privacy of the affected families, we will not go into further detail or comment about the investigations. The death investigations are being handled by outside agencies. We will be focusing our efforts on the health and well-being of our employees and families of our lost members."
The news release also thanked other law enforcement agencies for help and support the department has received from them.
On its Twitter feed, the Salt Lake Police Department posted: "With heavy heart we #mourn the loss of retired SLC Sgt. and current @UPDSL officer Jon Richey who was found deceased today."
Prior to joining the Unified Police Department, Richey served more than 20 years with the Salt Lake City Police Department, gaining a national reputation for his work with K-9s.
In January 2016, Richey was one of three Unified police officers who responded to a radio call reporting an accident at 2300 East and 4500 South. Officer Doug Barney had been seeking the man who had run from the crash, later identified as Corey Lee Henderson, and a woman who was with him when he was shot and killed. Sgt. Ben Steiner and Richey arrived at the street where Barney had said he spotted Henderson, only to find another officer tending to Barney, who had been shot in the head.
Steiner and Richey followed Henderson's footprints in the snow to a nearby address, where they confronted him. Henderson raised his weapon and opened fire, according to Steiner's report last year.
Steiner and Richey, joined by officer Matt Brownlee, returned fire.
Richey was shot once through each leg in the gun battle. Henderson was killed during the exchange.
During the investigation of the shooting, officials determined that Henderson fired 10 shots: a single shot that killed Barney and nine more targeting other officers, including two that struck Richey.
Richey was able to recover from his injuries and was honored by the Utah Legislature on Feb. 16, 2016. Lawmakers noted his years of "devoted and professional service to communities in the Salt Lake Valley."
Richey was also a witness in the trial of Elizabeth Smart’s kidnapper Brian David Mitchell in late 2010. While Smart was missing, Richey responded to a call at the Salt Lake Main Library of a man and two women dressed in robes. The women were wearing veils, covering everything on their faces but their eyes.
The man refused to let the officer look under the women's veils, saying it was strictly forbidden in their religion. The officer left without lifting the girl's veil, only to learn months later that it was Smart.
"It was absolutely traumatizing to think I could have ended the investigation in the fall of 2002. I beat myself up over that. I have to live with that," Richey said while Mitchell's trial was underway in 2010.
He earlier testified about how calm, collected and convincing Mitchell was in fooling him and many others.
Contributing: Pat Reavy
