DUCHESNE, Utah, April 16, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — A law enforcement officer with the Utah Division of Natural Resources has been placed on administrative leave after shooting and injuring a man on Tuesday during a traffic stop in Duchesne.
Todd Royce, law enforcement director at the Utah DNR, said there had been two attempt-to-locate orders issued for the man. Royce said the second ATL order was related to reckless driving, and he was not going to disclose the nature of the first order. That first order was issued at about 8:45 or 9 p.m., Royce said.
“Our officer was able to locate that vehicle in Duchesne right around 10 p.m.,” Royce said, adding the stop was made near 472 W. Main St., Duchesne.
Royce declined to say what led up to the gun being fired.
“The incident was very dynamic and very fluid, and deputies were on their way,” he said.
“Due to the investigation, we can’t release a lot of details that happened, but there were shots fired, the suspect was hit and sustained injuries. Was treated on the scene. Some Duchesne County Sheriff’s officers arrived as well, assisted in the treatment of the subject. The subject was transported to a local hospital and later flown to Salt Lake Valley for advanced medical care.”
“My understanding is that the injuries are not life-threatening, but I’m not 100% sure on them.”
Shootings are always hard on the officer involved, Royce said, but the Utah DNR officer “was not injured, physically injured, and is in fairly good spirits today.”
Royce said that, in keeping with officer-involved-critical-incident protocol, another agency will conduct the investigation, in this case the State Bureau of Investigation. He also thanked the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Department for its support and close working relationship.
Gephardt Daily will share additional details as they are made available.
