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SUMMIT COUNTY -- This has been one of the deadliest years for law enforcement officers in Utah. Already, four have been killed and several others have been shot at.
The cases once again highlight how dangerous an officer's job can be.
The flag outside the Summitt County Sheriff's Office is at half staff, as are the flags other sheriff's offices and police stations throughout Utah. All of them have been lowered to honor Kane County sheriff's Deputy Brian Harris, who was shot and killed in the line of duty last week.
"This job is about selflessness, and people like Deputy Harris understand that," says Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds.
Edmunds says Harris' death is a tragic reminder of the dangerous job law enforcement officers do every single day.
"It is a thankless job and a job that's done in complete and total anonymity," Edmunds says. "The deputies and officers who work on the street every single day, most people don't know their names. They don't get paid a lot of money. They do it because of their convictions."
Three sheriff's deputies have been killed just doing their job this year. Harris was chasing a burglary suspect when he was shot, which is rare.
"We have a lot of them killed in the course of doing simple traffic enforcement or simple domestic violence responses," says Reed Richards, spokesman for the Utah Sheriff's Association.
Traffic stops are responsible for two deputy deaths this year. Sevier County sheriff's Sgt. Franco Aguilar was helping motorists when another car hit him. Millard County sheriff's Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox was pulling over a car when the driver shot her.
Deputies KSL News spoke to Tuesday say they know something tragic could happen at any time, but they try not to think about it. Their families, however, do.
"[This] bring[s] some real attention to them about ‘dad' or ‘my wife' or ‘my husband' may not come home from work today," says Weber County Undersheriff Kevin McLeod.
"The families are the people who are the unsung heroes," Edmunds said.
A fourth law enforcement officer was killed in June. Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer Joshua Yazzie was killed in a car accident while responding to a call in Uinta County.
Harris's funeral is set for this Friday.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
