Utah lawmakers considering renaming a street in Provo after fallen officer Joseph Shinners

SALT LAKE CITY — The state Legislature is looking to honor one of Utah's fallen police officers. Lawmakers are considering renaming part of State Street in Provo after Provo police officer Joseph Shinners, who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 2019.

Lawmakers are looking to do it now, seven years later, because the court case against his convicted killer has finally wrapped up, and state lawmakers, police and Shinners' family feel they're now ready to remember him in this way.

That's the purpose of HB140. It would rename the part of State Street where it turns into 500 West as "Officer Joseph Shinners Memorial Boulevard." The bill sponsor, Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, said that stretch of road is significant because that runs right by the Provo Police Department where Shinners worked, and the hospital where he died.

Back in January 2019, Shinners was shot trying to arrest Matt Hoover, who had warrants out for his arrest. Hoover was later convicted of his murder in 2024. When Shinners died, Clancy said he was still in college at BYU, but he remembers the memorial. That moment inspired him to write this bill.

"I remember being at the intersection when his widow drove by the funeral procession as a college student, being there and recognizing that. This was someone who didn't know me, and they gave their life for me, to protect my loved ones, and my friends and family who live in the city that we love," Clancy said.

Clancy would later go on to become a police officer for Provo, too. He said renaming State Street and 500 West is something not only Provo police officers will see every day, but he believes it will also inspire others to look up Joseph Shinners' name, and learn about the sacrifice he made.

It's the second bill in the 2026 legislative session that lawmakers are considering to rename a street after a fallen Utah police officer. HB266 seeks to rename the local road connecting Santaquin and Payson as "Sgt. Billy D. Hooser Memorial Highway."

At last check, HB140 was still being debated in committee meetings, but Clancy believes once it goes to the House floor, it will pass with unanimous support.

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