Officer Ken Hammond, 33, of the Ogden, Utah police department decided to celebrate this past Valentine’s Day with his wife, Sarita, a little early. Hammond and his wife had recently married and she was now expecting the couple’s first child. Hammond had been a police officer for 6 years in Ogden, one of the largest cities in Utah known for the Osmond family and the several movies filmed on location including Three O’Clock High, filmed in Ogden High School; however, he still couldn’t have expected the kind of day he was about to have.  After finishing dessert at the Rodizio Grill, a Brazilian steak house located at the Trolley Square mall in nearby Salt Lake City, Hammond sat on the bench outside the restaurant on the second level of the mall, waiting for his wife. Suddenly shots rang out followed by screams. “I looked up a little bit further off to my right. I noticed that there was a man with a shotgun,” Hammond later recalled.

Hammond ran to his wife and told her, “You need to leave. Go, go back to the restaurant, call 9-1-1 and lock it down.” He then shouted the same to other visitors in the mall. “I’m just yelling, ‘Ogden City Police, OPD, get down, get down, get back, get back.’” Hammond then dropped to the ground as the man with the gun, later identified as 18-year-old Sulejmen Talovic, passed by on the level below. Hammond may not have been expecting trouble, but his instincts as a law enforcement officer kicked into high gear. Armed with only his Kimber pistol and wearing jeans and a t-shirt, Hammond set out after Talovic. Unknown to Hammond, Talovic, who was armed with a .38 caliber pistol, a shotgun, and a backpack full of ammo, had just shot nine people in his bloody rampage, two immediately after exiting his car in the parking lot. Witnesses would later describe Talovic’s face as eerily calm as he pumped shots into innocent shoppers and reloaded.

Hammond caught up with Talovic and cornered him. After he took position behind a brick pillar, Hammond yelled to the gunman who immediately fired on the officer.  Although Hammond had had his share of frightening experiences, “I’ve been in situations before where I’ve had to chase a guy who was pointing a gun at me,” this was the first time he had been fired upon. Hammond kept his wits about him and returned fire, preventing Talovic from continuing his massacre. The two exchanged shots until local police units arrived and joined the fray. By the time it ended, Talovic was dead, along with five of his victims.

Killed were Teresa Ellis, 29, and Brad Frantz, 24, Kirsten Hinkley, 15, Vanessa Quinn, 29, and Jeffrey Walker, 52. Walker’s son, Alan Jeffrey Walker, 16, and Hinkley’s mother, Carolyn Tuft, 44, were also wounded in the attack. Other victims also include Stacy Hanson, 53, and Shawn Munns, 34. As terrible as the violence was, it could have been a lot worse without Hammond’s rapid response. “There is no question that his quick actions saved the lives of numerous other people,” said Salt Lake City police chief, Chris Burbank. Hammond’s own police chief, Jon Geiner, backs up this statement as well. “Thank goodness he was there. You don’t want to ever say it’s good we were there and killed somebody, but it’s probably good someone was there.”

Hammond will be honored along with the other responding officers in a special ceremony tomorrow at 10am, starting at Salt Lake City, Utah’s Senate house. Through it all, Hammond has been quick to shrug off titles like hero. “I don’t necessarily feel like a hero. I feel like I was there and I did what I needed to do. Any other police officer would have done the same thing had they been in the same situation. I just happened to be the one that was there.”

"It’s one thing to come out here and strap this uniform on and be expecting it, be prepared for that. I’m on a Valentine’s date with my wife. I’m not ready for that. I’m not expecting that.”
Officer Ken Hammond