End of Watch:
September 5, 1929
Age: 66
Grand County Sheriff’s Office
Homicide: Handgun
Deputy Westwood was shot to death during the escape of two prisoners from the Grand County Jail.
Deputy Westwood and another officer arrested two men for possession of stolen property. The suspects were placed in the unstaffed jail. Several hours later, Deputy Westwood returned to the jail alone. He was shot with a .32-caliber pistol the men had managed to conceal from the officers. The two suspects escaped but were recaptured, tried, and convicted. One of the men died at the Utah State Hospital in 1963. The other was paroled. Deputy Westwood was married and the father of 12 children. He is buried in Grand Valley Cemetery, Moab.
The bronze memorial name plaque of Deputy Richard D. Westwood is sponsored by Alan and Jean Hall.