By Kimball Bennion
The Salt Lake Tribune
TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — Tooele County announced Thursday that it has hired an outside investigating agency to look into its Sheriff’s Office over unspecified allegations against some of its employees.
The announcement of the investigation came after accusations surfaced of retaliation and a hostile environment for some employees within the office, according to one officer who spoke to the Tribune on Thursday.
Corrections Officer Trevor Williams said Thursday that he was targeted to be let go during a round of budget cuts because he didn’t get along with Sheriff Frank Park.
While Williams declined to say what the nature of their feud was, he acknowledged he and Park “aren’t friends” and that Park used a recent round of layoffs in the financially struggling county to cut him out of the ranks.
A request for comment placed with Park’s office was not returned Thursday. A call placed to his residence also went unanswered Thursday.
In October, the department had to cut two positions, and Williams believes Park targeted him for one of the layoffs. After he lost his job with the department, Williams notified the county that he would sue for wrongful termination. The case was settled before the suit made it to court and Williams got his job back at the department in March plus payment for wages he lost, he said.
However, Williams claims some higher-ups in the office have retaliated against him since he came back, and that he’s not alone. Williams said he believes the investigation announced on Thursday has to do, in part, with his and similar allegations from other department employees.
“I do believe there are retaliatory circumstances [at the sheriff’s office], and I believe that this investigation is necessary,” Williams said.
Tooele County Attorney Doug Hogan declined to elaborate on the investigation when contacted Thursday.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate to give any more details because the nature of those details would impact the investigation,” he said.
Tooele County Spokesman Wade Matthews also said he could not specify the scope of the investigation or comment on the nature of the allegations. He said the allegations are against unspecified department employees but not against the Sheriff’s Office as a whole. The investigators -- Matthews would not specify who was conducting the probe -- are based outside the county.
“Tooele County obviously takes these things seriously,” he said. “County officials want to cooperate with the investigation.”
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