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LEHI — Ten years ago was one of the worst days in this city's history — a police officer was shot and killed while on duty. On Thursday, that officer was remembered with a park dedicated in his name.
Lehi police officer Joseph D. Adams was killed during a traffic stop on Aug. 3, 2001.
“We treasure our memory of him,” Thad Adams, Joseph’s father, said at a ceremony to rename the North Entrance Park, at approximately 1870 N. State, to the Joseph D. Adams Memorial Park.
Officer Adams was attempting to handcuff Arturo Javier Scott Welch during a traffic stop when Welch pulled out a gun and shot the officer. Welch suffered multiple gunshot wounds when Adams fired back. Welch survived and pleaded guilty to capital murder charges in April 2002. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Now 10 years old, Cade Adams was just 7 months old when his father was killed. He knew Thursday was going to be a tough day and as strong as he tried to be, sometimes, he couldn't hold back the tears. “Just because I miss my dad a lot,” he said.
He doesn't remember his dad, but will never forget him. "So when I hear about him and hear the stories about him, it just makes me feel good that I know he was a really good man," he said.
Joseph's wife, Cydney Adams Kronmiller, said it didn’t feel like it had been 10 years since she got an awful phone call, telling her that her husband had been shot and killed.
She said she's was just happy her son heard all the stories about his dad. "It's because Cade was so little,” she said. “After Joe died, it was lots of memorial events and just always keeping him in our thoughts."
In fact, it was Holden Farnsworth, with Boy Scout Troop 1125 of Lehi, who helped get this park going for his Eagle Scout project.
Farnsworth said he was just happy to be there. “It’s going to be awesome,” he said.
"It would be easy, over the passage of time, to have his name fade from memory,” Thad Adams said. “It hasn't occurred here."
No, the city and residents won't let that happen, especially with this park.
"Whenever we have family get-togethers, we can come here and feel the spirit with us and know he's going to be here with us," Cade said.
There are plans to add a monument and flag poles to the park.
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Written with contributions from Alex Cabrero and Viviane Vo-Duc.
