Kaysville residents show appreciation for four officers injured while on duty

KAYSVILLE, Utah — Nearly three months after four Kaysville police officers were burned trying to help a man who lit himself on fire, the city hosted a police appreciation event Saturday night.

“I think people really wanted the opportunity to say thank you to our police officers,” said Mayor Katie Witt.

With $5,000 in donations for the event, officers enjoyed a steak dinner then mingled with citizens who came to Heritage Park.

“This is awesome. It’s great to see community support,” said Detective Cade Bradshaw.

Bradshaw, along with Sergeant Shawn McKinnon, Officer Lacy Turner, and Officer Robert Jackson were burned as they tried to help a man who had doused himself in gasoline and then lit himself on fire at a gas station in April.

“I think all four of us have that drive in us that when something is happening, we have to make quick decisions and we make them,” said Jackson.

Jackson was in the hospital for 20 days after the incident and was out of work for 50 days. During his recovery, cards and baked goods from citizens showed up at the police department.

“Oh, I think that just boosted my recovery. I think it just made it so that I wanted to get out of the hospital even quicker and get back to serving this community that I love,” he said.

Bradshaw was out of work for about a month. Turner and McKinnon returned to work soon after the incident. They said Saturday evening’s event was a good opportunity to connect with the people they serve.

“I never get sick of a little kid coming up giving me knuckles or coming and saying they want to see my car, they want to be a cop,” Turner said. “We all got into this job to help people. It’s really a cool part in your career when you can look up and see that people really appreciate it and really believe that you are there to help.”