Widow Of Slain Officer Talks About First Christmas On Her Own, Efforts To See Name Added To DC Memorial

PROVO, Utah – The wife of a Provo police officer who was killed in the line of duty nearly one year ago talked about that dreadful day and learning she was pregnant just three days after his funeral.

“A lot of excitement, a lot of sadness,” Kaylyn Shinners told KSL as she spoke about learning she was pregnant just after burying her husband, officer Joe Shinners. “It’s amazing how many feelings you can have at once. That I could feel such joy and such grief and sadness at exactly the same time.”

Shinners was shot while attempting to arrest a wanted fugitive on Jan. 5, 2019. He was rushed to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.

This is the first time Kaylyn has talked to the media about what happened that day.

“It’s hard to go back to that day,” Kaylyn emotionally said. “Two officers came to my door to pick me up and take me to the hospital. They had just told me that Joe had been shot…they took him back to the O.R. to try and do surgery on him and that’s where he passed away…you never really think it will happen to you even though you know it’s possible…sometimes it doesn’t feel real sometimes I still feel like Joe can still just walk through the door, but unfortunately, it is [real].”

Joe’s other love of life was his young son Logan, who is now two-and-a-half years old. Kaylyn said not a day goes by when she’s not talking about her husband to her two sons.

“He’s just always a part of our lives,” she said. “I hope they feel that he’s still close to us. I just want them to know just the type of person he was because he was pretty awesome.”

Kaylyn’s first Christmas without Joe will not be easy but she said her two boys — Logan and Colton, who is now 2 months old — keep her going.

“They give me a lot of reason to just keep at it,” Kaylyn said. “I try to talk about [Joe] every day. He’s a part of our everyday lives… I just want them to know just the type of person he was because he was pretty awesome.”

As part of the healing process, Kaylyn and her family and 40 officers from the Provo Police Department are trying to make it to Washington D.C. to see Joe’s name become part of The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in May.

“For all of us our family and our entire blue family to have this opportunity to honor Joe and connect with others to have this chance to heal in that way it’s kind of special,” Kaylyn said. “It’s a pretty special week. It will mean a lot for our family it will mean a lot for our officers.”

The family is raising money with two concerts by Billy Dean on Jan. 2 and 3 at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo.

While you’re out buying gifts this holiday season, please consider giving the gift of love and support to the Shinners' family. Tickets for the Memorial Concert can be purchased at https://t.co/kI6eatJfhv or donations at https://t.co/dOXtZsIMqJ. pic.twitter.com/xOL40iwZbS

— Provo City (@provocity) December 4, 2019

A GoFundMe account has also been set up to help with funds.