This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake City rally last weekend to remember those killed by police brings to mind an incident that occurred in January 1994, when a deputy didn't shoot a menacing suspect, but wouldn't have been blamed if he did.
And it begs the question: Would some of those people killed by Utah cops in recent years been spared had that deputy been at the scene instead of the officers who pulled the trigger?
Saturday's rally featured, among others, William "Dub" Lawrence, whose suicidal son-in-law was shot and killed by a police SWAT team after a 12-hour standoff in 2008.
Lawrence, who was at the scene when his son-in-law was gunned down, disputed the SWAT team's version of events, saying the shooting was unnecessary.
More recent Utah police shootings involved a 21-year-old drug suspect who was shot in the head after not complying with narcotics detectives' orders to get our of her car, a mentally ill man wielding a snow shovel after being confronted by an officer, an unarmed man at a 7-Eleven who didn't comply with police orders and a man shot in the back for wielding a sword.
Here's what happened in 1994.
The Utah Jazz had a rookie named Luther Wright, who was the team's first-round draft pick the previous spring.
Unbeknown to the Jazz, Wright had a condition known as adult attention deficit disorder and on the day in question had taken large doses of Ritalin.
About 4 a.m., several motorists called 911 to report a large man acting erratically, screaming at passing cars and banging on garbage cans at a rest stop on Interstate 80 about 14 miles west of Salt Lake City.
Tooele County Sheriff's Deputy Ron Matekel responded. He was alone when the 7-foot-2 Wright came at him with a large club in one hand and what appeared to be a leg brace in the other.
Wright ignored Matekel's initial orders to stop and get on the ground. The deputy had his gun drawn, but didn't shoot as the threatening man continued to approach him.
Finally, Wright complied and let Matekel handcuff him. He was taken to the Tooele County Jail, where he was charged with disorderly conduct.
Matekel, who died two years ago, was commended for his restraint. It was a heroic action on his part and perhaps could serve as a model.
—
Smart shopping? • Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker's campaign announced recently that it bought $11,600 worth of advertising from KSL and will run 31 ads on that television station during the next month.
One might wonder how wise it was to put down a sizable chunk of cash in one TV basket since a significant number of Salt Lake City viewers will never see them.
DirecTV dropped KSL from its programming in August in a dispute over money.
There are 220,000 DirecTV subscribers in Utah, so it is safe to assume tens of thousands of those viewers live in Salt Lake City and will not be able to see the KSL spots.
Well, there are billboards, except Becker loathes those signs and the state's major billboard company seems to favor the mayor's opponent, Jackie Biskupski.
That leaves lawn signs.
—
Back in the saddle • Wednesday's column talked about neighbors in the Dilworth Elementary School area concerned about a shortage of crossing guards at the busy 2100 South and 2100 East intersection.
Well, the guards are back at full strength there, but shortages exist elsewhere.
Salt Lake City Public Services Director Rick Graham said the school year started with three crossing guards at Dilworth — two at 2100 South and 2100 East and one at the midblock crosswalk by the school's entrance. But after the first day, one guard quit without giving notice, so the city had to scramble for a replacement.
That is not unusual, Graham said, because crossing guards are seasonal and part time. Currently, he said, the city is five crossing guards short of the 84 needed to cover all the schools, but it should be at full strength by next week. It takes several days to put a new guard on the street due to the necessary training and background checks.
Often, Graham said, when a crossing guard walks off the job without notice, a city parking enforcement employee is summoned to grab a flag and do guard duty until a replacement is found.
That should make motorists parking at the downtown kiosks happy.