Two WVC police officers honored for going beyond the call of duty

West Valley City • A routine check on a distraught woman could have concluded with a brief police report that was filed and forgotten.

But two of the city's finest made sure it wasn't.

Kory Newbold, then a patrol officer for the West Valley City Police Department, responded to a call in September about a woman who was thought to be suicidal because her son's wheelchair was being repossessed.

After confirming that the woman was all right, Newbold, now a detective, checked with the department's evidence division for a wheelchair to give her but none was available. Then Detective Justin Boardman heard about the situation.

A few days later, while making a donation to the Goodwill, Boardman saw a wheelchair in the store's scrap-metal pile and asked if he could take it. He spent several hours overhauling the chair, which then was delivered to the woman.

The detectives were recognized for their efforts at a Nov. 27 meeting of the City Council with Employee of the Month awards.

Paula Lozano, an evidence technician, nominated the two for the award, saying their response to the situation "exemplifies employees going above and beyond the call of their duties."

"The call could have just ended as a 'short form' with the woman who ended up with a wheelchair," she wrote, "but these employees took it upon themselves to provide this woman with a wheelchair for her son and help alleviate her burdens."

pmanson@sltrib.com

Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC