23 Cops Disciplined in Utah

SANDY — The body responsible for policing Utah's police voted Tuesday to discipline 23 officers for offenses ranging from forcible sex abuse to lying on a police-academy application.

www.deseretnews.com...

a former Nephi Police narcotics officer. Frampton, according to a POST case summary, engaged in a sexual relationship with an informant while he was on duty. He also told the woman on two occasions that she was the target of a police investigation, the summary said.

The council revoked Michelle L. Johnson's certification, as well. Johnson, a former officer with the Springdale/Zion Canyon Department of Public Safety, is facing charges of felony drug possession and misdemeanor theft. Investigators said she failed to put methamphetamine, seized from an arrested suspect, in the department's evidence locker, using the drug instead.

Utah corrections officer Mark E. Nentwich also had his certification revoked because of his conviction for sexual battery. Nentwich had initially been charged with forcible sex abuse, a second-degree felony, for assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2006. POST investigators said Nentwich never admitted to the crime when they interviewed him; however, he did plead guilty to a reduced charge as part of an agreement with Sevier County prosecutors.

All three officers agreed to accept the revocations in consent letters signed before the hearing.

Twenty other officers agreed to have their certifications revoked or suspended, as well, for engaging in sexual activity with inmates or probationers; driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs; theft; harassment; or on-duty or off-duty sexual misconduct.

Lt. Steve Winward has headed POST's Investigations Division for the past 31/2 years. Winward said the cases presented Tuesday are representative of the most common forms of misconduct his investigators look into.

" 'SADD' is our term for it — sex, alcohol, drugs and domestics," he said.

"We've had several officers that are just a couple years from retiring … and then they do something that is basically career suicide because they're not thinking. The power's gone to their head, and they think they can get away with it," Winward said. "Just seeing that, that's the toughest part of the job."

This is a bit, just a BIT reassuring to see that somewhere, LEOs are being held accountable. Twenty three seems like a lot to me. Didn't really know Utah HAD that many cops.

23 bad apples off 'the force' in Utah.

Yay Utah!!

This may be reassuring to you but to me it makes me angry to think that these police officers were so corrupt and still "aiding their community" while these crimes have taken place. Granted, they are being held accountable for their actions, but of course any time a cop goes to court they are found guilty of "lesser charges" and probably lined up with some other line of work with a slap on the wrist. Make and example of them to other police officers around the country and toss the book at them.

I thought that if they were joining the police, the police themselves with do a background check, so it wouldn't matter if they lied there application would automatically be denied...

no wonder people are so corrupt...

It is indeed reassuring that at least in some communities they are holding Law Enforcement Officers accountable to the same laws they are sworn to protect.

This needs to be done more often by more communities around the United States.

I do agree though that unless the punishment is severe, making examples of them, that it will do little to deter future abuse of privilege and position.

However, I doubt that Utah is cleaning house just to polish the image of Law Enforcement tarnished by corruption in their State. It is most likely due to the FBI levying the majority of it's resources to fighting Corruption in Civic Positions. The State of Utah is probably considering it better to be proactive than let the FBI go through their dirty laundry. A bad cop under investigation by the FBI can lead them to investigating the Chief of Police, and a Chief of Police under investigation by the FBI can lead them to investigating the Mayor and City Council, and so on, all the way up the Political Food Chain. So, the higher ups probably don't want their dirty laundry being gone through by the FBI so they roll over on the lower rungs so that the FBI will move along thinking there is nothing further to see there.

[edit on 2-10-2009 by fraterormus]

I want not only background checks for police but regular drug and steroid screenings. I think a lot of cops aggressiveness may be due to steroid abuse.

There are many more problems country wide. Many police orgs actively force people who have warrants for their arrest to work in Meth Labs and marijuanna grow houses. This was the root of the problems in New Orleans with Katrina. The Governor was protecting the massive mafia activity that risked being outed when the military came in.