In the early morning hours of December 14, 1907, a 51-year-old White/Caucasian male named Charles S. Ford was on his third shift as a Salt Lake City Police Officer, having recently returned to law enforcement after a 16-year absence. At approximately 2:30 a.m., he was standing at the corner of 600 South and 200 West when he encountered two men fleeing the scene of an armed robbery at the Albany Hotel bar across the street.
The armed robbers, upon seeing Officer Ford, shot him.
Despite being wounded, Officer Ford managed to return fire, though his shots did not hit the fleeing suspects. The two men successfully escaped from the area and fled Utah. Officer Ford was taken to St. Mark's Hospital, where he died from his injuries twelve hours later. He was married and the father of two grown daughters.
A month after the fatal shooting, one of the robbers was apprehended in Portland. The second suspect was located in Seattle in May of 1908 and was shot and killed by officers in that city. The robber who was arrested was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, due to failing health, his sentence was terminated in 1918, and he died several months after his release.
