By Nate Carlisle
The Salt Lake Tribune
SANDY, Utah — Two former Salt Lake County jail guards and two Wasatch County deputies were among the peace officers booted from law enforcement or otherwise disciplined Thursday by state police regulators.
Three of five who appeared before the Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council at its quarterly meeting were accused of committing sexually based offenses, such as sexual assault and inter-departmental affairs.
Those disciplined were:
* Jerom H. Brown, a former Salt Lake County jail guard, received a two-year suspension from law enforcement. Investigation findings say Brown provided female inmates with his Web site address and other information so they could contact him upon their release. He then misled investigators until he failed a polygraph, a council investigator said. Brown has already resigned from the jail staff.
* Ronald R. Friend, another former Salt Lake County jail guard, also received a two-year suspension. An investigation found Friend violated jail policy by providing snacks and soda to female inmates. He met another inmate upon her release and bought her clothes and a bed for her and her children. The jail fired Friend in May.
* Richard L. Benson, a former Wasatch County sheriff’s sergeant, had his law enforcement certification revoked. An investigation found Benson made advances toward a subordinate. She rejected him but agreed to clean his house. Once there, investigators said, Benson cornered her in a closet and sexually assaulted her. The county attorney declined to press charges.
* Camille M. Kramer, a deputy with the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, was suspended one year. Investigators say Kramer had an affair with a married firefighter who impregnated her and caused a disruption to her office when the affair became public.
* John J. Williams, a former Utah County jail guard, had his certification revoked. An investigation found Williams looked up a former inmate and met her for sex twice, possibly violating state laws on relations between law enforcement and offenders.
The council also reduced a punishment issued in September to a former Utah County sheriff’s deputy. Derk Palfreyman had his discipline amended to a three-year suspension. The council had revoked his certification, but Palfreyman appeared before the council Thursday to appeal.
Palfreyman had been convicted of misdemeanor theft for taking sheep panels from a man with whom he was having a leasing dispute. Palfreyman explained how he took the panels from land he had leased to another rancher in the heat of a dispute with that rancher. Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy appeared in support of Palfreyman.
Copyright 2007 The Salt Lake Tribune