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ROY — Like buildings throughout the country, the flag outside the Roy Police Department flies at half-staff. Officer Matthew Gwynn wanted to do more.
"It was on my day off when I heard about (the shootings)," said Gwynn. "It was all over the news."
The 12-year veteran of the force took the news of the shooting hard.
"It would be nice if our military could protect themselves at home," he said.
He chose Friday morning, the day after the attack to catch up on some paperwork, but this time not in his office.
Steve Breinholt/KSL-TV
"I thought I'd go over there and write reports and be visible," he said referring to the Roy Military recruitment station. "Just let them know that we're there to support them and take care of them because they take care of us overseas. I want the public to know we're aware of what happened in Chattanooga, and we're going to make sure that doesn't happen in Roy."
Like Chattanooga, Tennessee, no weapons are allowed in the Roy recruiting station. Gwynn's decision to park himself outside didn't go unnoticed. The Marine recruiters inside posted a picture of Gwynn to their Facebook page with the message: "Nice to be in a community that comes together and looks out for one another. Semper Fidelis!"
"When I heard he was doing that, it was like that's exactly what I want him to be doing," said Roy City Police Chief Carl Merino. "The kind of thing I want this whole department to be doing."
This recruiting station changed my life. I just want to do what I could to make sure these guys are taken care of.
–Officer Matthew Gwynn
Now, it will become a regular part of each officer's day.
"And we're armed," added Merino.
For Officer Gwynn, this particular center is special.
"I went through Marine Corps training in 1995," Gwynn said. "This is actually the office that sent me to recruit training when I was 18. I walked right through those doors."
Although he's no longer in the military, he knows he is part of a special fraternity.
"Always a Marine," Gwynn said. "This recruiting station changed my life. I just want to do what I could to make sure these guys are taken care of."
