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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Utah, 11 disciplined police officers identified

OFF THE WIRE
One police officer tried to hire a prostitute. One officer stole a bottle of whiskey. Two drove while drunk.

Utah’s police regulators, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, on Monday released a list of former, current or would-be officers it disciplined in its Sept. 7 meeting. The council recently passed a rule creating a 30-day waiting period before releasing the list of those disciplined.

Eight officers and three cadets received discipline in the quarterly meeting. Edward Guerrero formerly of the Moab Police Department, and Tod Trinnaman of Duchesne County received the stiffest sentences: three-year suspensions.

Guerrero was convicted of a misdemeanor count of theft. The city of Moab terminated him in December, according to council documents, but the suspension would prevent him from working as a police officer elsewhere in Utah.

Trinnaman lied to other enforcement personnel.

Minutes of the council meeting show members, most of whom are sheriffs and police chiefs from across Utah, had some sympathy for Richfield Officer Michael Thomas and gave him a nine-month suspension rather than a proposed two years. Thomas, who attended the meeting, went looking for his daughter and found her in a park with a boy, according to minutes. He threw the boy to the ground and told him he would kill him, minutes say. Thomas said he was acting as a father and wanted the boy to stay away from his daughter. Richfield Police Chief John Evans attended the meeting to support Thomas.

Misconduct involving sex has traditionally been the single biggest pitfall for police officers going before the council. But the latest list has just one sex-related case: Washington County sheriff’s Deputy Steve Hatzidakis entered a plea in abeyance last year to soliciting prostitution and last month the council gave him a one-year suspension.

Another big factor in misconduct cases is alcohol and drug use. While two officers on the latest list drove while drunk, minutes show a state trooper, R. Ashton Jeffery, stole a bottle of Crown Royal that had been seized as evidence. A prosecutor in Taylorsville declined to press charges but the council suspended Jeffery for two years.

Officers suspended by state regulators

Cedar City • Mary Jo Hoyt received a two-year suspension for driving while intoxicated.

Duchesne County • Tod Trinnaman received a three-year suspension for lying.

Moab • Edward Guerrero received a three-year suspension for theft.

Ogden • Robert T. Buck received a one-year suspension for driving while intoxicated.

Richfield • Michael Thomas received a nine-month suspension for assaulting a boy who was with his daughter.

South Salt Lake • Michael Shane Cowdell received a two-year suspension for domestic violence.

Washington County • Steve Hatzidakis received a one-year suspension for sex solicitation.

Utah Highway Patrol • R. Ashton Jeffery received a two-year suspension for stealing evidence and illegally transporting alcohol.

Police academy • Timothy Jones and Joseph Yeates received a two-year suspension for lying on their applications to the academy; Amanda Zeller received a one-year suspension for supplying false information on her application.

Source: Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council

http://www.sltrib.com/csp/cms/sites/sltrib/pages/printerfriendly.csp?id=50454047