LIVE: Watch procession as fallen Santaquin officer returns home

Watch 👇 procession for the fallen Santaquin police officer.

 

 

SANTAQUIN — Law enforcement agencies and people across the state are sharing messages of support and paying their respects to the family of a fallen Santaquin police officer. 

Police said a semitruck driver intentionally hit and killed the officer Sunday morning.

Heartbreak in the Santaquin community

“It just breaks your heart over and over every time you hear it,” said Shante Johnson. 

Her husband, Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson, was shot and killed Sept. 1, 2013. She now works with the Fraternal Order of Police as a family liaison, helping individuals get through a situation she knows all too well. 

“Any time we hear of something like this, we just try to immediately assist the family, let them know that we’re here for them in any capacity that we can be available to them,” Johnson said.  

The officer’s death has shaken the small Utah County town. 

“We protect our officers,” said Tamara Ray Davis, who lives in Santaquin and visited a memorial put up for the officer. “There’s too much violence in the world these days.” 

Her grandfather, Joseph Davis, couldn’t believe what he was hearing on the police scanners. 

“I heard there was a wreck,” he said. 

When he learned a Santaquin police officer was killed early Sunday morning, he said he was horrified. 

“I thought, ‘No, no, we can’t have that, we can’t have that stuff. We have to keep our officers going,’” Davis said. 

Johnson visited the officer’s family at their home in the hours following his death. 

“They’re in shock, they’re devastated,” she said. “They’re just feeling the ultimate loss and they don’t know what to do.” 

Johnson said she understands what the officer’s widow is feeling. 

“I just know that it’s going to be hard for her and we can just be here for her as a beacon of hope now,” Johnson said. 

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