Tremonton police officer who died in the line of duty ‘loved his community,’ his brother says at funeral

Logan • Sgt. Lee Sorensen was a man who “would do anything for the people in Tremonton and Garland,” his brother, Will Sorensen, told more than 1,000 mourners at the Tremonton police officer’s funeral Friday.

“You’ll never find a kinder, more loving person than Lee. Lee loved his community,” Will Sorensen said, describing times where Lee looked out for others, both on and off the job.

Lee, his brother said, would park near grocery store employees’ cars at night to make sure they got home safely. He would explain the importance of seatbelts during traffic stops, and check in on neighbors who were grieving.

As family, friends, officers in uniform and community members began to fill the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum at Utah State University, photos of Sorensen and his loved ones played in a slideshow across the screen behind the stage.

Mourners wore blue ribbon pins, a symbol of gratitude and remembrance for the officer who was killed alongside Tremonton-Garland Officer Eric Estrada, 32, while responding to the same domestic disturbance call on Aug. 17. Estrada’s funeral on Thursday saw more than 1,000 attendees.

Sorensen’s casket was carried into the arena to the sound of bagpipes and flowers surrounded the stage where the casket rested. Utah country singer Cole Hartley sang the national anthem.

Sorensen, a 56-year-old Garland native, was a 16-year veteran of the Tremonton-Garland Police Department when he was killed.

Officer Colton Buckley recalled a lighthearted moment from working the graveyard shift with Sorensen. One night, the crew jokingly used window markers to draw sergeant stripes and write “supervisor” on Sorensen’s patrol car, then quickly drove off before he returned.

“I had only gone three blocks when a chat came across our computers telling us we were all fired,” Buckley told a laughing crowd, “for defacing police property.”

Sorensen was also a loyal friend, Buckley said.

“He was the first person outside my immediate family to know that I was to be a father,” Buckley said, and “made sure that I could go to every single appointment.”

Officer Grayson Jackson recalled how, when his daughter was born a month early, he texted Sorensen to say things hadn’t gone as planned and he’d need to take the day off.

“Couple hours later, sitting in the hospital room, a nervous nurse walked into the hospital room and said, ‘There’s a cop outside for you?’” Jackson told mourners, prompting laughter. “I instantly, without hesitation, knew who it was. It was Lee, because that’s who he was — showing up, checking in, making sure the people he cared about were OK in their time of need.”

Throughout his life, his obituary stated, Sorensen was active in the community.

His brother told mourners that one of Lee’s favorite times of year was the Box Elder County Fair.

“And yes, he loved that bicycle that he would ride in the parade,” Will said, smiling as he recalled how their family would hand Lee candy — collected by his nieces and nephews — or bottles of water as he passed by. “And then he’d take off again with a smile.”

Lt. Skyler Gailey, who read Sorensen’s eulogy, said Lee loved community policing, especially on his bicycle, because it allowed him to stop and talk with people wherever he went.

He was also an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-year mission for the church in Venezuela, Gailey said. While there, he learned to speak fluent Spanish, which aided him during his career.

Sorensen married his high school sweetheart, Lanette Peterson, in 1994. Two of the couple’s three children, Lacey and Landon, were in attendance Friday. Their third child, Analise, died previously.

Gov. Spencer Cox said he regrets he never had the chance to meet Sorensen before his death, but after visiting the medical examiner’s office, he quickly learned what kind of person Sorensen was.

Sorensen had worked as the medical examiner investigator in Box Elder County, and Cox visited the office after the shooting.

“These were his colleagues, called upon to do the worst possible thing,” Cox said. “And then they started telling me stories about Lee and Lanette, both of whom they had worked with, and how much they loved and adored these two human beings.”

Cox also met Lanette that day, on what would have been her and Sorensen’s 31st wedding anniversary.

“And somehow through the darkness and the tears, Lanette was comforting everyone else,” Cox said.

Tremonton-Garland Police Chief Dustin Cordova offered encouragement to his fellow officers.

“As an officer, you will consistently deal with people on their worst day. This job can make you feel like the world is bad, that people do not care, and it is ‘us versus them,’” he said. “That is not true. This week we witnessed thousands of people come together to show us love.”