Rigby police chief thanks Utah nurse for ‘standing firm’ in protecting his officer

Published at 4:29 pm, September 1, 2017 | Updated at 5:20 pm, September 2, 2017

EastIdahoNews.com staff

The following is a news release from Rigby Police Chief Sam Tower. Photo shows Officer William Gray and April Gray from a GoFundMe page.

RIGBY — On July 26 of this year, one of our reserve officers, William Gray, was the victim in a horrific accident in northern Utah while working his full-time job as a truck driver.

The suspect in this incident was fleeing from Utah State Highway Patrol, when he crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head on with Gray’s truck, severely injuring Gray and killing himself. Officer Gray was flown to the University of Utah’s burn unit where he remains under their watchful, professional, and competent care.

Within the first hours of Officer Gray being admitted into the burn unit, an incident occurred between hospital staff and an officer from an agency in Utah who was assisting with the investigation.

The Rigby Police Department was not aware of this incident until Aug. 31, 2017.

The Rigby Police Department would like to thank the nurse involved and hospital staff for standing firm and protecting Officer Gray’s rights as a patient and victim. Protecting the rights of others is truly a heroic act.

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The Rigby Police Department would also like to acknowledge the hard work of the involved agencies, and trusts that this unfortunate incident will be investigated thoroughly and appropriate action will be taken.

It is important to remember that Officer Gray is the victim in this horrible event, and that at no time was he under any suspicion of wrongdoing.

As he continues to heal, we would ask that his family be given privacy, respect, and prayers for continued recovery and peace.

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