Paighten Harkins

Reporter

Paighten covers breaking news and the criminal justice system for the Salt Lake Tribune. Before starting at the Tribune in October 2017, she lived and worked in Oklahoma. She has a dog named Major, who's objectively very cute.

(KSL | Pool Photo) Buk Mawut Buk, 22, appears remotely for court on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. Buk is charged with aggravated murder in the shooting death of University of Utah football player Aaron Lowe.

Fatal shooting of Aaron Lowe happened after argument over moving his car, records state

By Paighten Harkins | Becky Jacobs | Sean P. Means | October 15, 2021, 11:03 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Frankie the 20-year-old tortoise spends time in the courtyard at the Salt Lake City Veterans Home where he lives on Monday Oct. 11, 2021. Over the weekend he had quite the adventure when he escaped through an unlocked gate on Sunday with University of Utah police tracking him down elsewhere on campus.

How did escaped tortoise Frankie get across Foothill Drive alive? Slow and steady

By Paighten Harkins | October 12, 2021, 3:28 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) State Street was filled with hundreds during the SLC Women's March for reproductive rights and access to safe abortions, Oct. 2, 2021. Saturday's march was held in conjunction with other marches across the country.

1,000 rally for Women’s March in Utah to protest anti-abortion laws

By Paighten Harkins | October 3, 2021, 12:03 a.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Memorial for Aaron Lowe, by the gate of the house on the corner of Broadmoor Street and Yermo Avenue, on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021.

Two hours, six noise complaints, one party: How Aaron Lowe’s killing highlights police staffing troubles

By Paighten Harkins | Jordan Miller | October 1, 2021, 1:24 p.m.

Prosecutors say fatal shooting of Kearns man who fired at SWAT team was justified

By Paighten Harkins | September 24, 2021, 8:58 p.m.

(Paighten Harkins | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police cadets participate in simulation training on Dec. 2, 2020, at the Peace Officer Standards and Training academy at the Salt Lake Community College Miller Campus in Sandy. Experts say improved training could be one way to reduce the number of police shootings.

What Utah police can do to reduce the times they shoot at minorities

By Paighten Harkins | Jessica Miller | September 22, 2021, 3:22 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Olivia Herrera and Bryan's son, Luciano Pena-Valencia place a flower on the memorial for Bryan Pena-Valencia on Saturday, March 20, 2021.

A Utah first: Data that shows the race of people police shoot at

(Salt Lake City Police Department via YouTube) This screenshot shows police shooting at a man armed with a knife in Pioneer Park, Thursday, June 10, 2021.

Officers justified in shooting of Pioneer Park stabbing suspect, prosecutors say

By Paighten Harkins | September 17, 2021, 8:19 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) l-r Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson, Utah County Attorney David Leavitt and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill held a press conference to voice their support for abolishing the death penalty in Utah, Sept. 14, 2021.

Utah prosecutors urge lawmakers to pass bill abolishing death penalty

By Paighten Harkins | September 15, 2021, 12:52 a.m.

Judge tosses out James Huntsman’s tithing lawsuit against LDS Church, but an appeal looms

By Paighten Harkins | September 15, 2021, 12:16 a.m.