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SALT LAKE CITY -- Some of the families of fallen Utah Highway Patrol troopers say they're extremely disappointed in the Supreme Court. It declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that banned roadside memorial crosses in honor of their loved ones, on public land.
With this decision, the ruling from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals stands. It found crosses like this on state property violate the separation of church and state. Utah's Attorney General says crosses like this will have to be removed.
Each of the 14 crosses erected between 1999 and 2005 bear the name, rank, date the trooper was killed in the line of duty, and a biography.
Families and the Highway Patrol Association are considering other options.
For Andrea Augenstein and her children, Parley's Canyon is a special place. One of the crosses is for her husband. On the road below is where Dan Harris, then 33, died trying to catch a speeding vehicle when his motorcycle crashed.
"We were so thrilled when these went up," Augenstein said.
There are 14 such crosses in Utah, all but four on state land. In 2005, a group called American Atheists sued, saying they were an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. A federal appeals court agreed.
"So the Tenth Circuit essentially said they cannot be on government land, they have to be removed," said the plaintiffs' attorney Brian Barnard.
The families of the fallen troopers aren't pleased.
"It's just a kick in the teeth and I find it very unkind, very unkind," according to Augenstein.
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Outside of Panguich there's a memorial for trooper Lynn Pierson, hugged by a cousin in this image. In the late 70s, a motorist shot and killed him on a traffic stop.
"It's a sign of sacrifice. This is devastating to us," said Tad Pierson Mecham, sister of Lynn Pierson. "The beehive on it represents the great department that they worked for and the state they died for."
The decision resolves the legal case, though the debate over a symbol of sacrifice goes on.
"They're accepted because that's what people see when they see that. They don't see that necessarily as a symbol of just Christianity. But a symbol of sacrifice of soldiers. And people who died for their country or just for some cause," said Matheson Harris, son of UHP Trooper Daniel Harris.
"We need to honor these officers. But we can do it in such a way that doesn't improperly mix church and state," Barnard said.
Of the 14 total crosses, ten are on public property. The President of the Utah Highway Patrol Association told KSL that the group plans to keep the crosses and is looking to move those ten to private property.
Email: [jdaley@ksl.com](<mailto: jdaley@ksl.com>)
Utah Highway Patrol's Fallen Officers
| Officer | End of Watch | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Patrolman George Van Wagonen | May 23 1931 | Accidental |
| Trooper Armond A. Luke | December 3 1959 | Vehicle pursuit |
| Trooper George Dee Rees | July 2 1960 | Vehicular assault |
| Trooper John R. Winn | September 22 1971 | Accidental |
| Trooper William John Antoniewicz | December 8 1974 | Gunfire |
| Agent Robert B. Hutchings | July 20 1976 | Gunfire |
| Trooper Ray Lynn Pierson | November 7 1978 | Gunfire |
| Trooper Daniel W. Harris | August 25 1982 | Vehicle pursuit |
| Trooper Joseph Samuel Brumett III | December 11 1992 | Vehicular assault |
| Trooper Dennis Lavelle Lund | June 16 1993 | Gunfire |
| Trooper Charles D. Warren | May 16 1994 | Gunfire |
| Sergeant Doyle Reed Thorne | July 30 1994 | Aircraft accident |
| Trooper Randy K. Ingram | October 5 1994 | Automobile accident |
| Lieutenant Thomas Sumner Rettberg | February 11 2000 | Aircraft accident |
