From Corporal Aaron D. Rosen, P.I.O./Chaplain:
While carrying out the duties as a Utah Law Enforcement Officer, Deputy Josie Fox (Millard County Sheriff's Office) was fatally wounded during a traffic stop near the city of Delta.
The Utah Peace Officers Association, along with its sworn membership statewide, sends its condolences and best wishes to the family of Deputy Fox, Sheriff Robert A. Dekker, his staff, and the residents of the Millard County area.
The untimely death of any Utah Law Enforcement professional assuredly brings about a profound sadness and creates a void in the agency in which the officer serves. We will become as one, and buoy-up those who are grieving for Deputy Fox; her family, co-workers, and friends.
Deputy Fox becomes Utah s 129th police officer to pay the ultimate sacrifice for the peace and safety we, as a State, enjoy. Deputy Fox is only the second woman to die in the line-of-duty (with the remaining 127 names being men).
Deputy Fox will be honored at the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony, slated for the first week in May 2010. The newly constructed $1.3M memorial was recently dedicated (2008). Her name, on a bronze plaque, will be added to this memorial wall at that time.
For further information about fallen officers, the UPOA, and how we honor our own, please contact us at anytime. Or visit the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. (ULEM) website at:http://www.utahsfallen.com.
Deputy Fox, you are now needed for duty back home. You lived your life with distinction. You served with pride. You will be remembered with honor. Rest easy friend
From Ken Wallentine, Chief of Law Enforcement for the Utah Attorney General:
This was one class-act cop. I will miss her. The smile in the photo tells how much she loved being a cop with a patrol area of a few hundred square miles. They don t come tougher than her. I remember her as one of my toughest students ever in the Academy, but one who also was the first to help. Just a damn fine cop.
From Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff:
As the Attorney General, I know I speak for all Utahns who sleep safely in their beds how much we appreciate the police officers and deputy sheriffs who are vigilantly protecting our communities. Last night Millard County Sheriff's Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox was required to pay the ultimate price that is expected of our protectors.
My deepest condolences to Josie's husband and her two children. My office will contribute whatever resources that are requested by local authorities engaged in the manhunt. It will be a sad day this fall when we gather to add Deputy Fox's name to the Utah Peace Officer Memorial as only the second woman to be murdered in the line of duty. One of Josie's Police Academy instructors told me this morning how well he remembered her zeal and dedication even though it had been five years since she graduated from the Academy.
Deputy Fox died protecting her own town of Delta and the people she loved. As Attorney General, I pledge continued efforts to provide law enforcement with the necessary legal support to bring this killer and others to justice.