Trolley hero's police certification revoked

A police officer once praised for his heroic actions at Trolley Square will never patrol Utah streets again.

Ken Hammond, 36, had his police certification revoked Thursday at the quarterly Peace Officer Standards and Training meeting.

Hammond resigned from the Ogden Police Department in January, and by March he had already signed an agreement saying he would voluntarily surrender his police license and not fight the certifying body's allegations, said Lt. Steve Winward, bureau chief over investigations at POST.

The revocation means Hammond will not be able to work as a police officer again in Utah.

The POST allegations were based on Hammond's misdemeanor charge of sexual battery for an encounter with a 17-year-old girl while he was on duty in 2005. Hammond recently pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

The criminal allegations didn't surface until December 2008 — after Hammond had won local and national acclaim for his quick actions on Feb. 12, 2007.

While dining out with his wife, Hammond heard gunfire and was able to distract 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic, who had gone on a shooting spree through the crowded Trolley Square mall, killing five people and wounding four others.

Talovic was shot and killed by Salt Lake police officers, who praised Hammond's quick, life-saving actions.

Hammond's role in Trolley Square was not mentioned in the POST meeting, Winward said.

A civil case alleging different police misconduct against Hammond had no bearing on the POST decision, Winward said. The group only looked at the criminal case.

Officer Steve Romero also voluntarily agreed to surrender his police license and had his certification revoked Thursday, as well, Winward said.

Romero, 27, a former Cache County deputy who had worked in the jail, was arrested in April for allegedly downloading child pornography. He has since been charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and will have a preliminary hearing in July.

Winward said Romero voluntarily agreed to give up his certification before charges were even filed.

In all of the 15 cases heard Thursday, officers signed consent agreements saying they wouldn't fight the allegations, Winward said.

Nearly one third of the officers with cases before POST had their licenses revoked, while the other two-thirds were placed on suspensions for different lengths of time.

The group will meet again Sept. 22 in St. George.

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com