Deadliest Utah law enforcement attack was in 1913

OGDEN — The shooting of six police officers in Ogden Wednesday may have been one of the bloodiest incidents ever for Utah law enforcement. But it wasn't the deadliest.

That distinction goes to an astonishing episode in 1913 that claimed six lives, including five officers. The case went unresolved for nearly a century, until Salt Lake County officer Randy Lish read a book about it.

"When I read the story," Lish said, "I was deeply saddened that five officers and a civilian lost their lives and it was never solved. I thought, 'Holy smokes, how could this happen?'"

Lish's detective work in two states finally resolved the case and answered its biggest mystery, the whereabouts of the man who did all the shooting and then made a clean getaway. Based on Lish's conclusions, then-Salt Lake County Attorney David Yocom formally closed the case in 2003.

When Lish heard news of Wednesday's police shooting in Ogden, it rekindled memories of the 1913 shootings by a desperado named Rafael "Red" Lopez. The historical episode exemplifies the kinds of risks that Lish trains officers to deal with. He's the senior instructor at a firing range operated by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Lish said a key lesson is that a suspect generally has an advantage over approaching law enforcers, especially if it's on turf he's familiar with. The risk is all the greater if the gunman is hiding in wait, preparing an ambush.

"When you've got to clear that hill, that corner, or whatever, they may be there waiting for you," Lish said.

That happened twice in the 1913 incident and five officers paid with their lives.

It began with an argument in Salt Lake County's Bingham Canyon mining district. Lopez killed a fellow miner in a dispute over a woman and then fled to the shores of Utah Lake near present-day Saratoga Springs. When a posse moved in, Lopez was waiting, hiding in the brush with a Winchester rifle. He opened fire on the posse, killing Bingham Police Chief John William Grant and Salt Lake County deputies George Witbeck and Nephi Jensen.

Then, Lopez fled to an underground mine in Bingham Canyon, an area he knew well.

Armed lawmen took up positions, standing guard at mine openings for days. On the eighth day of the standoff, deputy James Hulsey and special deputy Vaso Mandarich went into the mine pushing an ore car loaded with hay. They intended to ignite a fire and smoke Lopez out.