TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, Oct. 24, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Thousands of families turned out Friday night for the Utah Highway Patrol/Department of Public’s Safety’s annual “Trunk-or-Treat” celebration, which has grown into one of the largest Halloween events in the Beehive State.
The free community gathering, held at the Department of Public Safety headquarters in Taylorsville, offered candy, costumes, and a showcase of public safety vehicles and equipment. Families had the chance to see the DPS helicopter, motorcycles, SWAT and dive team units, incident-management vehicles, snowplows, and fire trucks, while meeting troopers, police officers, and other first responders.
Lt. Cameron Roden told Gephardt Daily the event continues to see a tremendous community response and has become a bona fide Halloween tradition for Utah families.
“It’s great to see the turnout. We love these types of community events, where we can get out there and rub shoulders with everybody,” Roden said. “And as you can see, it’s well attended, and there’s a lot of people out here having fun, so it’s a really enjoyable night for the kids to come out and have a good time.”
Roden said the family-friendly event is especially meaningful to the troopers and other first responders who stage the annual bash, who are often dealing with the public in more dire settings.
“We love being part of the community. We’re out there every day making sure that people are safe as they’re driving. And so a lot of times, we’re going to events that are really hard,” Roden said. “So it’s good to have a little bit of a change and get to know people on this side of things, and when we’re having fun.”
Friday’s event ran from 5:30 to 8 p.m. UHP officials extended thanks to the many sponsors and volunteers whose donations helped make the large-scale community celebration possible.
VIDEO: Gephardt Daily / Samuel Price
