Retired lieutenant empathizes with heroic officer
"I'm assuming he's bouncing off the walls right now, emotionally," Prescott said over the phone Wednesday about Hammond.
And being called a hero, Prescott added, could be at once "awkward" for Hammond but also good for the image of law enforcement.
Prescott was a Salt Lake County sheriff's lieutenant in 1994 when he shot and killed Clifford Lynn Draper after a 5 1/2-hour standoff in the Salt Lake City Library on March 5, 1994. Draper was armed with a gun and a bomb and had taken 18 hostages.
Prescott, who was in plain clothes and technically off duty, allowed himself to be taken hostage while concealing his own weapon, a Glock .40-caliber handgun. When it looked like Draper was about to take the life of one hostage, Prescott felt he had to act by opening fire on Draper. None of the hostages died.
"It still flashes through my mind occasionally — not like it used to," Prescott said about that day in March. "Time is a great healer."
The shooting has cast Hammond into the local and national spotlight, which included a press conference Tuesday and an appearance Wednesday on the "Today Show."
Prescott remembers that kind of attention. He recalled being on the America's Most Wanted television show and meeting President Bill Clinton. Prescott was also honored with the Police Officer of the Year and Deputy Sheriff of the Year national awards.
"I didn't consider myself heroic," Prescott said. "You go to help people, and that's what I did."
Prescott, 58, of West Jordan, reached the rank of captain with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department before he retired almost six years ago. Now he teaches defensive tactics and off-duty response training at the Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy in Sandy.
As soon as Prescott retired, he applied for and received a concealed weapons permit and he "routinely" carries a weapon wherever he goes. If faced with the same situation as Hammond (who is allowed to carry his weapon while off duty), Prescott said he hopes he would do the "right thing," which for Prescott means acting on a "moral habit" of protecting people.
"If I saw someone being injured, I would step up to the plate," Prescott said. "Here's a man who stepped up to the plate.
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