The Chief of the law enforcement division for the Department of Natural Resources spoke with KSL on Wednesday, providing information on the officer involved shooting that took place in Duchesne County on Tuesday night. Chief Todd Royce shared that an “attempt to locate” had been issued on a vehicle that had been called in as swerving all over the roadway. An officer from the Utah Department of Natural Resources pulled over the reported vehicle at about 10pm and not long after stopping the car, shots were fired and the driver of the vehicle, whose name has not been released, was injured and flown to a Wasatch Front hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The officer is on administrative leave while an investigation is conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation. “Officer-involved shootings are difficult,” Royce told KSL. “They’re difficult for the department, they’re difficult for families, for families of officers, for families of subjects and it’s tough all the way around. We don’t like when these things happen.” Royce also explained that in rural communities it is not uncommon for DNR officers to assist local law enforcement agencies. “When a serious incident happens,” he said, “law enforcement is pretty united in responding and taking care of stuff.”
