Salt Lake County sheriff's Lt. Lloyd Prescott will be named the National Sheriff's Association's Deputy Sheriff of the Year this weekend.
Prescott is being honored for stopping a gunman from hurting hostages at the Salt Lake City downtown library last year. He will receive the honor at the opening general assembly of the NSA annual conference on Sunday in San Antonio.Prescott posed as an accountant in the March 5 incident, persuading gunman Clifford Draper to take him as a hostage, too. Draper held a bomb and nine other hostages for more than five hours before Prescott shot and killed him.
The gunman had said he planned to start killing hostages and turned toward one as the deputy pulled his hidden weapon and shouted, "Sheriff's office, hit the floor!"
Prescott guessed that the bomb Draper held in his hand would hurt only him and Draper if the hostages were down on the floor.
The award is the second such national honor for Prescott. Earlier this year, the lieutenant was honored as the Police Officer of the Year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.