GUILTY UT - Sgt. Derek Johnson, 32, fatally shot, Draper, 1 Sept 2013

[popsicle]

Fallen officer 'never was able to return fire', investigators say

What started as "unintelligible radio communication" from an officer turned into a citywide crime scene Sunday with the officer dead, a woman shot and injured, and the man suspected of orchestrating the shootings in critical condition after turning a gun on himself.

Johnson came across a silver Volvo that was parked in an unusual position on 13200 South Fort Street shortly before 6 a.m. A man, 35, and a woman, 34, were with the car when Johnson stopped to investigate, Roberts said.
“As Sgt. Johnson approached the couple in his vehicle, the man ambushed him and began firing at Sgt. Johnson,” Roberts said.

Johnson was hit by a bullet and drove down the street as the suspect continued to fire at him. Johnson’s car ran off the road and hit a tree about three blocks north on Fort Street.

Johnson never left his vehicle nor did he return fire.

Before the shooting, the man and woman were in a hit and run accident, striking objects along 900 East and 13800 South, police later learned. Investigators believe the man shot the woman at some point and after shooting Johnson, the man shot himself. One gun was found at the scene.

Police believe the woman involved was a victim of this crime.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=26677416&nid=148

 

[popsicle]

Vigil held for fallen Draper police officer

American flags and blue, yellow and black ribbons lined the grounds of Draper City Hall, where nearly 500 community members gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil in honor of fallen Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson.

They were joined by family members that included cousins, his grandmother and aunt, and city leaders, all of whom came to honor the sacrifice of a Draper officer, the first in the city's history to lose his life in the line of duty.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=26685145&nid=147&title=vigil-held-for-fallen-draper-police-officer

 

[MsFacetious]

Gunman wanted to kill a 'uniformed officer,' sheriff says

The motive of the man who shot and killed Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson “was to kill a uniformed police officer in a marked automobile,” Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said Monday.

“That’s what I believe we’re facing here,” he said, adding that the “why” is still unknown.

Winder would not identify the suspects, whom he described as “transient in nature” with local roots. They remained hospitalized Monday and had not been interviewed. The sheriff said releasing their names to the public would compromise the ongoing investigation.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26694296&ni...r-sheriff-says-&fm=home_page&s_cid=featured-1


I was afraid that was the motive. I'm just glad he didn't go on a spree and kill more of them.

 

[ohiogirl]

https://www.facebook.com/SgtDerekJohnson

Remembering Sgt. Derek Johnson DPD EOW 9/1/13

 

[MsFacetious]

Timothy Troy Walker, 35, the alleged shooter, and Traci Lee Vaillancourt, 34, both remained in critical condition Tuesday at Intermountain Medical Center, police said.

---------------

Walker was convicted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct in 2000.

Vaillancourt was convicted of felony theft in 2004 and sentenced to probation and community service.
She currently has a shoplifting charge, a misdemeanor, pending in South Jordan Justice Court.

Both are listed in a case involving the guardianship of a minor child.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26705500&ni...ting-identified&fm=home_page&s_cid=featured-1

 

[MsFacetious]

Ask a cop: We are the target

This may sound like complaining or a cry for sympathy, but it is not. I'm just trying to bring some people back to reality and let them know what we are facing, which I think is abundantly clear given recent events.

So if you see a cop, instead of a scowl, let's try a smile.
Instead of one finger, how about all five and a wave.

This is especially true if you see any Draper Police Department Officer. Buy them lunch, say thank you for all you do — heck, give them raises while you're at it. I'm doing all I can to help out, and I hope you do, too.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26699548&ni...we-are-the-target&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-19

 

[MsFacetious]

Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson was just 10 minutes away from finishing his final graveyard shift.

He was headed back to the Draper Police Department just before 6 a.m. Sunday and was about 30 seconds away from pulling into the parking lot, when he came across a vehicle stopped in the road on 13200 South.

Seconds later, without warning, Johnson was shot multiple times, according to police, and later died from his injuries.

Family members said Wednesday that he had been looking forward to being in charge of search and rescue operations in Corner Canyon.
That new job would have started this week when he would have switched to a day shift.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...p-final-graveyard-shift-when-he-was-shot.html

 

[MsFacetious]

We lost another one today...
I saw a Utah County Sheriff today that pulled over because he was crying.
My heart totally sunk when I saw that.
I hoped it was just Sgt Johnson... but I had an awful feeling it wasn't. lease:


http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26745924&ni...ork-plane-crash&fm=home_page&s_cid=featured-2

The tears had not yet dried when the unspeakable news began to ripple across Utah's law enforcement community Friday morning: another officer lost, another officer's death.

As police and others in the emergency services community in Utah and beyond prepared for the funeral marking the in-the-line-of-duty death of Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson, word spread that Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Jay Lessley had been killed.

Lessley, 40, a 13-year veteran of law enforcement, died on impact in an 8 a.m. Friday crash of an experimental airplane that nose-dived into a field northwest of the Spanish Fork/Springville Airport.



http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26747215&ni...len-sgt-johnson&fm=home_page&s_cid=featured-1

Community says goodbye to fallen Sgt. Johnson

Remembering him as a dedicated public servant who always had a trademark smile on his face no matter what he was doing, a community said goodbye Friday to fallen Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson.

 

[MsFacetious]

Son of slain Draper officer throws out first pitch for the Bees

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=268...ch-for-the-bees&fm=home_page&s_cid=featured-4

 

[bourne]

Wow. So horrible. And so undeserved. SMH

 

[popsicle]

Timothy Troy Walker pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated murder in the slaying of Sergeant Derek Johnson, 32, and was immediately sentenced to life without a possibility of parole.

The family of Sgt Johnson had considered asking prosecutors to push for a death sentence for Walker, but said they were happy with the penalty handed to his killer Tuesday.


Randy Johnson, Sergeant Johnson's father, told KUTV: 'Today the streets are safer, because the man that shot Derek is now off the streets and can't hurt anyone else.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2688995/I-forgive-putting-bullet-Jailed-ex-girlfriend-meth-addict-sentenced-life-shooting-dead-police-officer-reveals-LOVES-despite-years-abuse.html