By Donald W. Meyers
The Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Corrections had the most certified officers disciplined in a five-year period.
Records from the Peace Officers Standards and Training agency show that 59 corrections officers were disciplined by the POST Council between Jan. 1, 2007 and May 1, 2012. The number represents 20.3 percent of the 291 police officers disciplined in the state in that time period.
The records show of the 59 disciplined corrections officers, 20 had their certification revoked, while 32 received suspensions and seven were given letters of caution. Among the offenses that led to revocation were sexual misconduct, inappropriate relationships with inmates and theft.
The Utah Highway Patrol had nine officers disciplined, with five of them losing their POST certification and four of them being suspended for various periods of time.
Among agencies in the communities covered by The Salt Lake Tribune’s Close-Up editions, The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office had the most, with 13 officers disciplined. Of those, five had their certifications revoked and eight were suspended.
Salt Lake City’s police force had 10 officers disciplined in the same time period, with five losing their certification.
The Weber County Sheriff’s Office also had 10 officers disciplined, but only three lost their POST certification, while one received a letter of caution.
West Valley City’s police department, its disbanded narcotics unit the subject of recent controversy, had four officers disciplined, with two losing their certification.
Statewide, 105 officers lost their certification from POST and 178 were suspended while eight received letters of caution.
The data were compiled by UtahsRight.com for a weekly series in The Salt Lake Tribune’s Close-Up section highlighting information gleaned from public databases. The purpose is not to provide analysis of the data, but to provide raw numbers so the public can analyze the data themselves for their own purposes.
UtahsRight.com, the data website for The Salt Lake Tribune, conducts an ongoing statewide quest for district court information and other public information, including salaries of public employees and restaurant inspections, using public records requests made under the state’s Government Records Access and Management Act, commonly known as GRAMA.
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