Veteran Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Dies In Off-Duty UTV Crash

LOGAN, Utah – A 32-year veteran with the Cache County Sheriff’s Office died tragically over the weekend when his UTV rolled off the side of the road.

Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen said he was at a loss with the death of one of his top officers. Lt. Brian Locke was killed while off-duty and spending time in the mountains.

Saturday night just before 9 p.m., Cache County Search and Rescue responded to a UTV crash in Paradise Dry Canyon, about six miles northeast of Paradise.

Locke was injured when his UTV rolled about 50 yards off the side of road. According to the sheriff, Locke was pinned under the machine for a long time. He later died from his injuries at the hospital in Logan.

Sheriff Jensen said Locke had been camping in the area with friends, but was riding alone when he crashed.

“Brian was where he loved to be,” the sheriff said. “He love the outdoors. He loved his side-by-side, and riding his 4×4. He just loved being in the mountains.”

Officers with Board of Utah State Parks and Recreation were handling the crash investigation.

Big loss for the @CacheSheriff over the weekend. Lt. Brian Locke was a valued member of that sheriffs office and well known to other law enforcement across the state. Coming up at 6:30 @KSL5TV the sheriff and another law enforcement friend share their thoughts. #ksltv https://t.co/KuFfocfJPT

— Jed Boal (@jedboal) October 9, 2018

The sheriff said he was a big guy in stature who commanded respect in any room.

“Brian was a big, huge, compassionate teddy bear,” said Sheriff Jensen. “He was the kindest, gentlest, soft-hearted man that I knew.”

Lt. Brian Locke started off as a jail deputy and served in every department during his more than three decades with the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Jensen said Locke always did more to serve the community than his job required.

Lt. Lee Perry with the Utah Highway Patrol worked regularly with Lt. Locke on the roads, and at the Utah State Capitol where Perry is a legislator and Locke served as a legislative liaison with the Utah Peace Officers Association.

“He was heavily involved in this community,” said Lt. Perry. “In fact, losing Brian is going to leave a hole in Cache Valley.”

Lt. Perry also worked with Locke in his role as a deputy state medical examiner when they had fatal crashes to cover on the roads of the county. It was a duty Locke took on, in addition to his duties with the sheriff’s office.

His job in that capacity was to deliver the bodies of fatal crash victims to the medical examiner’s office, and then notify the family.

“It was how he treated people, and how concerned he was about making sure the family members were notified properly,” said Lt. Perry. “Making sure they were properly taken care of.”

Lt. Perry said it was a big deal to Locke that those family members were treated with respect.

“He was just so caring and so concerned about getting it done and done right,” he said.

Services to honor Lt. Locke were expected to be finalized in the days to come.