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Master Officer Joseph Shinners Memorial Boulevard is unveiled Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Provo.

Courtesy Provo police

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Master Officer Joseph Shinners Memorial Boulevard is unveiled Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Provo.

Courtesy Provo police

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On what would have been Officer Joseph Shinners’ 37th birthday, family, friends and the Provo Police Department gathered Friday for a special tribute.

Provo City unveiled a sign declaring 500 West in Provo as Master Officer Joseph Shinners Memorial Boulevard in honor of the man who was killed on duty on Jan. 5, 2019.

“I’m really grateful for all the support we’ve had all these years. It means so much,” said Shinners’ widow, Kaylyn Shinners, at the unveiling ceremony. “And I’m really grateful for those who had the idea to name a road after Joe. I would have never thought of it.”

Shinners was killed outside an Orem shopping center when he and several other Provo and Orem police officers were attempting to arrest Matt Hoover on outstanding warrants. When Hoover attempted to flee the scene with a civilian and officer inside, Shinners entered the truck and was shot.

Kaylyn Shinners said she remembers Shinners as a fun, amazing person, husband and father. For those who didn’t know him, she asked that he be remembered for the courage and selflessness that he showed.

“He chose to run to the danger. To protect, and got shot in the process,” Kaylyn Shinners said. “He had the best wife and the best baby — his words not mine — and yet he still chose to put himself in danger to protect others. Isn’t that what a hero does?”

His name will be remembered by everyone who passes his sign on the corner of Lakeview Parkway and 500 West.

“We are naming this street in his honor because the way he lived deserved a place in our city’s everyday life,” Mayor Marsha Judkins said. “He was steadfast. He knew his duty and he followed it, even when it led him into danger.”

Provo police spokeswoman Jana-Lee Holland said a bill was sponsored last legislative session to get Shinners Boulevard designated on 500 West from 2000 North to Lakeview Parkway, but the bill did not go through.

Instead, a new traffic committee was set up, and the city was informed by the Utah Department of Transportation that it will be putting signs up for the new name at the 2000 North intersection. Provo placed its sign on the south end of the road, where the city has the right-of-way.

“It just designates it as a memorial highway,” Holland said. “Doesn’t change the street address, but it gives us that ability to post it.”