Massachusetts

Utah Police Officer Killed in Line of Duty Remembered in Massachusetts

Twenty-nine-year-old Joseph Shinners, originally from Everett, Massachusetts, was killed Jan. 5 while trying to apprehend a dangerous fugitive

A Utah police officer killed in the line of duty over the weekend is being remembered in his native Massachusetts.

Twenty-nine-year-old Joseph Shinners, originally from Everett, was shot while trying to apprehend a dangerous fugitive Saturday night. He later died in a hospital.

The Everett Fire Department expressed their sorrow where Shinner's father is a retired captain.

"John is a member of our family so to see something like this happened to his family is just devastating," said Everett Fire Chief Anthony Carli.

He said he didn't know the slain officer but his father, John Shinners, spent 36 years with the department while raising his family in Everett.

"I’m not surprised from seeing the press conference from the Provo Police that's the type of person Joe was," said Carli.

Joseph Shinners was living in Utah and was a three-year veteran of the Provo Police Department.

"He exemplified the nobility of policing. He was the very best of the Provo police department," said Provo Police Chief Richard Ferguson. "I'm heartbroken. I'm shocked."

Authorities described the 40-year-old suspect in the shooting as a violent fugitive who made recent threats against police. The suspect was injured and apprehended after a shootout with Shinners.

"He was never in it for his own glory. He was always out there working hard and he was willing to give everybody else the credit for it," said Provo Police Det. Nick Dupaix.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, police in neighboring Orem have identified the suspect Monday as 40-year-old Matt Frank Hoover.

At the Haverhill Police Department, where Shinners' brother is an officer, flags were at half-staff on Monday in his honor.

Carli said another brother recently started working as a police officer in South Carolina.

"I think he was proud that his sons chose public service, just as he did," said Carli of Shinners' father.

Shinners was promoted to Master Officer after his death. He is survived by his wife and 1-year-old son.

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