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SALT LAKE CITY — The family of slain Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Cory Wride wants to protect more officers by raising awareness of the vulnerabilities officers face inside their own patrol cars.
“He was simply doing the job that he does every day, and he pulls someone over and checks their information on the computer, and that's where he should feel the safest. And in this case, it is where he was the most vulnerable,” said Johnny Revill, spokesperson for the Wride family.
Both Wride and sheriff's deputy Greg Sherwood were shot through their windshields last week as they sat in the driver's seat of their patrol cars. It is also how Draper police Sgt. Derek Johnson was killed last fall.
"Just hours after finding out about Cory, Nan, his wife, brought up the idea of why don't we have bulletproof windows in these cars,” Revill said.
So, Wride's family has started a petition on the White House website asking for government agencies to look into adding a bullet resistant film on the windshields of patrol cars, which would give the officers an added layer of protection. The petition is titled “Protect Our Law Enforcement from Being Shot like Sgt. Cory Wride.”
"After the funeral the family was together talking i(about) t more and Nathan (Wride’s son) decided, 'You know what? We are going to raise awareness even more on a national level,’” Revill said.
As Wride's family expresses thanks for all of the community support, they also want to give back.
"To be in that procession and see the number of officers — Cory's brothers and sisters in law enforcement and how that helped them to grieve a little bit and pay tribute — was just awe inspiring,” Revill said.
While it could cost $30,000 to $50,000 thousand to armor just one police car, the Wrides believe there are affordable alternatives, such as a film which can be put over windows to make them bullet resistant.
"And we can protect that officer with a front windshield film and both windows, the passenger and the driver's side, for less than $5,000,” Revill said.
Wride's family believes it is something he would want them to do.
"I think he would be looking down on this and know this could change and protect the life of one of his brothers and sisters in law enforcement and he would be all for this,” Revill said.
The petition now has over 2,200 signatures.
