2 officers, deputy involved in deadly Tremonton shooting credited with saving lives

TREMONTON — Holding back tears, Tremonton Police Chief Dustin Cordova shared publicly for the first time his thoughts about the deadly shooting that claimed the lives of two of his officers Sunday night.

“We are living every cop’s worst nightmare,” Cordova said. “Make no mistake about that.”

At the same time, however, he told members of the media on Tuesday that in addition to Sergeant Lee Sorensen and Officer Eric Estrada, who gave their lives, and Box Elder County Deputy Mike Allred, there were many first responders who acted with bravery.

“We had many brave men and women risking their lives to do the right thing that night,” Cordova said.

Deputy warned others to stay back during Tremonton shooting

During the same press conference, Box Elder Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy, Cade Palmer, said Deputy Allred warned other first responders to stay out of the line of fire, calling out even through his own injuries, noting that those actions were not surprising.

“He’d volunteer to put his life at risk to help anybody, let alone get paid to be a sheriff’s deputy,” Palmer said. “He’ll put everybody first.”

Palmer added that Allred was well enough on Tuesday that he wanted to pick up his K9 companion, Azula, from the hospital himself.

Cordova said that though the last couple of days have been tough, community support has made a tremendous difference.

“I’ll tell you that gives us great strength,” Cordova expressed. “Seeing the thousands of people that lined the roads, holding flags to support us, to show us that they care.”

Cordova also added that he’s grateful to see Sorensen and Estrada being remembered as he sees them— as heroes.

“Make no mistake about it,” he said. “And I truly believe from the bottom of my heart, more people would have died that night had they not intervened.”

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