Tremonton reflects on deadly shooting that claimed 2 officers' lives, a year later

TREMONTON — Blue ribbons and banners outside of Tremonton city buildings marked one year since a deadly shooting took the lives of two police officers.

Tremonton-Garland Police Sgt. Lee Sorenson and officer Eric Estrada are being remembered not only for how they protected the community in life, but for how their sacrifice brought people together.

Taryn Hammons says her employers at Indulge Boutique, along Main Street, created a simple window mural as a tribute to the fallen officers.

"I feel like they just wanted the families to know that we will never forget them (and) never forget the sacrifice," Hammons said. "This is just a small token of giving back to what they deserve."

For those who were at the scene that night, the anniversary carries an added weight. Box Elder County sheriff's deputy Mike Allred and his K-9 partner, Azula, were both injured during the shooting incident.

"That was just unbelievable, that this could happen in our own little Mayberry that we have," Allred said. "It rocked the community."

Allred says it's important that people remember the kind of officers Sorenson and Estrada were. "They loved their community. They were there to protect their community and answer the call," he said.

Still, facing the one-year mark hasn't been easy.

"The first year — you don't want it. You don't want it to come," Allred said, adding that the emotions hit him hard again about two weeks ago.

Former Tremonton Mayor Lyle Holmgren called the day of the shooting easily his toughest as mayor.

"Melancholy," Holmgren said of the anniversary. "I've thought about this day for several days now. I think about their families. I think about their loss."

In talking about the accused shooter, 33-year-old Ryan Michael Bate, Holmgren says he struggles to understand. Officers responded to Bate's home in response to a domestic disturbance.

"I remember the days afterward trying to make sense of it all," Holmgren said. "It was just hard to believe that somebody could bring themselves to do something like that, you know? And whatever was going through his head, I don't know. But it was certainly bad enough that he could take two people out and try to take a third person out."

Despite the grief, those closest to the tragedy say something meaningful has emerged from it. Allred encouraged people to "continue to be that friend and that neighbor."

Holmgren reflected on the shared shock the community felt, and how it sparked a desire to do better. "You wanted to be a better neighbor. I wanted to be a better person," he said.

Sergeant Sorenson's niece, Madison Peterson, spoke briefly by phone with KSL on behalf of the family. She said Sorenson's wife, Lynette, is grateful for the outpouring of community support over the past year and wants to remind everyone to hold your loved ones tight.

*This story originally aired on KSL Newsradio/KSL TV and has been reformatted for a digital audience using artificial intelligence."

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