TREMONTON — Darren Jex is producing laser-etched drink coasters that feature his version of the department’s official memorial badge, created in tribute to fallen officers Sergeant Lee Sorensen and Officer Eric Estrada.
“It’s a very small thing that I hope that I can do to help my hometown,” Jex said. “Everybody’s trying to pitch in to help and support. And I wanted to figure out a way to do it.”
Proceeds from the coasters, made from black slate, will help send officers and their families to National Police Week this May, when Sorensen and Estrada’s names will be added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial.
Darren Jex holds one of his laser-etched coasters at his home in Willard. (Mike Anderson, KSL TV)
For Jex, the effort is personal. His brother, Detective Brent Jex of the Tremonton-Garland Police Department, said the trip will be an important part of the healing process for the department and the families involved.
“Every penny helps. It’s really important for the closure there,” he said.
The department hopes to send all officers and their spouses to the event in Washington.
“We figure we need to raise between now and May, about $100,000,” Detective Jex said. “There’s something about being there when their names are added to the memorial, and to sit on the Capitol grounds and go through that service with officers and families from across the country.”
Detective Brent Jex at National Police Week in 2018. (Photo courtesy, Brent Jex)
He and Chief Dustin Cordova are the only members of the department who have been through this before.
“I’d like to say it gets easier, but it doesn’t,” Detective Jex added.
Community support, they say, makes a difficult journey possible.
“They put their lives on the line every day that they go out,” Darren Jex said, noting how much it means to have local backing as the department prepares to honor Sorenson and Estrada in the nation’s capital. Darren planned to go into law enforcement himself until a back injury got in the way.
“I have always had an affinity for law enforcement,” he said. “Brent has been a huge example to me: being on the force and just the experiences that he went through.”
Jex’s company, Coldwater Productions, is selling the coasters in sets of six and eight, or as singles. Gunslinger Forge is also selling challenge coins in honor of Sorensen and Estrada for the same cause. Alternatively, donations can be sent to the Golden Spike, Fraternal Order of Police lodge #43, in care of Brent Dex at 125 S 100 West, Tremonton, UT 84337.
