Utah trooper shot 4 times returning to work with promotion


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SALT LAKE CITY — On the ground and on his back, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Paul Kotter did everything he could to push himself to safety from a man who had unexpectedly opened fire on him.

"When this whole thing started unfolding, the first thing that came to my mind was coming home to my family. It's been three months and I still get very emotional. I'll probably be emotional forever. But I said to myself, 'Nobody is going to take me away from my family,' and I fought for my life," Kotter said Monday, speaking publicly for the first time about being shot four times on Aug. 28.

"I fought for my family. I fought for my other bothers and sisters in brown and everyone that wears this badge. We are there to serve the public. And we are there to return to our families every night," he said.

Kotter's training saved his life. But that training actually kicked in several hours earlier as he was getting ready to leave his house. Kotter was going to attend his son's football game before going straight to an overtime construction shift, meaning he would likely be spending the majority of the night simply sitting in his patrol car with his overhead red and blue lights flashing to alert other drivers to slow down.

Kotter admitted that for a split-second, he questioned whether he really needed his bullet-proof vest that night.

"Then training kicked in, because I always wear my vest. I put my vest on. It's almost a personal relationship I have with my vest. Before I put that thing on, for some reason looking back on it now, my vest was screaming at me, 'Use me, because I'm going to be saving your life tonight.'"

Just before 2:30 a.m., while Kotter was sitting in his patrol car parked in a construction zone by Hill Field Road and state Route 193 — near the south gate of Hill Air Force Base — a car driven by Drew Morgan Moyer pulled up to the trooper.

Moyer, 21, of Layton, had been drinking at a nearby apartment complex with friends.

Lt. Paul Kotter of the Utah Highway Patrol points out the bullet holes in his protective vest during a press conference in Taylorsville on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. He was involved in a shooting in Layton on Aug. 28, 2015. (Photo: Ravell Call/Deseret News)
Lt. Paul Kotter of the Utah Highway Patrol points out the bullet holes in his protective vest during a press conference in Taylorsville on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. He was involved in a shooting in Layton on Aug. 28, 2015. (Photo: Ravell Call/Deseret News)

"They say when he consumes alcohol, he becomes very violent and agitated. He also has some suicidal tendencies, based on witness statements. And he had just recently lost his job and purchased a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun," UHP Col. Danny Fuhr said.

Moyer also had a dislike for law enforcement, Fuhr said, based on statements from friends and family members.

As Moyer pulled into the construction zone and stopped his car, Kotter got out to talk to him. As Kotter asked for Moyer's driver's license and registration, he could detect an odor of alcohol on Moyer's breath.

Just as Kotter took a step back to allow Moyer room to get out of his car so he could conduct field sobriety tests, Moyer's left hand came up over the window holding a gun, Fuhr said. Moyer did a "trigger squeeze," meaning he attempted to fire the weapon.

"Nothing goes off. (Kotter) then sees the right hand of Mr. Moyer go over the top, he grabs the slide and racks it back. And that puts a round inside the chamber of the weapon," he said.

Those few seconds between the first time Moyer pulled the trigger and when he racked his weapon were critical, Fuhr said. It allowed Kotter time to get some distance between himself and the gunman.

Kotter started to walk backwards. He tripped on his heel and fell backwards, breaking his left hand when he hit the ground. But Fuhr said he was still able to grab his weapon and fire multiple rounds at Moyer as he used his feet to push himself away while still on his back. Kotter was shot in the buttocks as he retreated.

When he got to his vehicle, Kotter needed to put a new magazine in his gun. As he was reloading, Moyer drove by and from close range shot him twice in the back as he fled, Fuhr said.

In total, 21 shots were fired by Kotter and seven by Moyer.

Moments later, as Moyer sped away and turned the corner, he crashed into the back of an oil truck that did not have its lights on. Shortly after crashing, Fuhr said, investigators believe Moyer died from a single self-inflicted gunshot to his head.

Kotter was taken to a hospital, where Fuhr said he remained amazingly upbeat.

"When Sgt. Kotter was laying on his hospital bed with a hole in his buttocks, before the bullet was even removed, he looked at me and said, 'Colonel, I can't wait to put that uniform back on and go to work,'" he said.

But 5 p.m. that afternoon, Kotter was released from the hospital to continue his recovery at home with his wife and four children.

Kotter on Monday displayed the vest that saved his life, including the holes where the bullets struck and the dried blood stains from the areas where the bullets broke the skin. He admitted that he has replayed that night over in his head several times.

"I guess I just feel blessed, knowing that I was able to travel on my back, 20 to 30 feet, while shooting a firearm — not causing any damage to anybody else other than Mr. Moyer's car. It is a relief to me that no one else was hurt," he said.

Fuhr called Kotter a hero. But Kotter said in his eyes, there were a lot of heroes that night, including the construction workers who ran to his side to help after he was shot.

Kotter has been promoted to lieutenant since that incident. He is now in charge of the UHP's DUI squad and also teaches a program to other troopers and cadets called "Below 100." He said the last year when fewer than 100 law enforcers were killed in the line of duty was in 1943. The Below 100 course stresses five points for keeping troopers safe, including always wearing a bullet-proof vest and not becoming complacent.

"Complacency can kill," said Kotter who noted that even though he wore he vest that night, he was guilty of not having his police radio on his utility belt. "It isn't until an officer experiences complacency that he understands what it is."

Fuhr used to teach the Below 100 course. But the UHP's head man, who finds himself routinely engaged in administrative duties, admitted he was not wearing his own vest routinely. That changed that night at the hospital.

"I said, 'Colonel, you've been preaching Below 100. You've been preaching we wear our body armor. Colonel, we've got to get our guys to wear our body armor. You have to wear your body armor.' And from that day forward, the colonel swore to me and he swore to the department that he would lead by example," Kotter said.

Fuhr added, "The risk that the brave men and women make every day in law enforcement uniforms, I mean, this is a construction overtime shift. Nothing is supposed to happen on a construction overtime shift. But then again, you never know when you're in law enforcement what will play out that night."

Contributing: Geoff Liesik

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