Lawsuit: Ex-Ephraim police officer claims he was punished for reporting chief to state officials

An ex-Ephraim police officer who resigned in protest after the city reinstated its police chief amidst allegations of misconduct is now suing in federal court.

Darren Pead — who was one of three officers who resigned in June after Chief Ron Rasmussen was allowed to return to work despite an investigation that determined he failed to complete hundreds of police reports — filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court, alleging he was a whistleblower who was punished for reporting the chief’s behavior to state authorities.

The lawsuit claims that Pead, along with fellow officers Larry Golding and Jared Hansen, discovered over the summer that their boss had failed to fill out hundreds of police reports, dating back to 2008. Pead also noticed that Sgt. Len Gasser had “cleared” hundreds of Rasmussen’s blank reports and classified them as “miscellaneous” cases.

“Indeed, even in serious calls involving child abuse, missing persons and sexual assault calls, [the sergeant] had gone into the chief’s reports and had changed event information, deleted involved persons, and added the classification of ‘miscellaneous’ before approving the empty reports,” the lawsuit reads.

As a result, the lawsuit alleges, hundreds of reported crimes in Ephraim went undocumented and un-investigated in the last decade.

The three patrol officers reported their discovery to city officials, according to the lawsuit, but no one investigated immediately. One of the officers then called the Utah Attorney General’s Office and reported the misconduct.

Pead alleges in the lawsuit that during a June meeting with city officials, city manager Brant Hanson threatened to fire the officers for calling the AG’s office, and said the officers should have let the city “take care of itself.”

Rasmussen was placed on paid administrative leave in June for a few weeks as a result of the three officers’ allegations. An investigation of the Sanpete County lawman, conducted by neighboring Utah County, found that Rasmussen was responsible for 237 of 272 incomplete reports in the department over 10 years. Under his leadership, the department also did not follow some policy protocols.

While investigators found that the chief was negligent, they determined that his negligence was not criminal. The FBI also reviewed allegations against Rasmussen and declined to file criminal charges.

Pead alleges in his lawsuit that Hanson urged Utah County investigators to look at not just the police chief, but the three officers as well. The “purported investigation” began on June 19 and ended the following day, the lawsuit states.

The suit notes that though the Utah County report was supposed to focus on the police chief, investigators also made a finding that Pead was “very insubordinate” and had been unprofessional.

“The report’s biased and faulty investigation and finding cast Officer Pead in a more negative light than Chief Rasmussen,” the lawsuit reads.

Pead also alleges that the city manager issued a number of statements to the media during this time that disparaged him and the other officers. This has led to difficulties finding employment as a law enforcement officer, he says.

The officer had applied to several law enforcement agencies, according to the lawsuit, and had been scheduled for a final interview with one agency on the day the Utah County report was released in July. Since the report became public, all offers of employment and applications were cancelled, he says.

All of this, the lawsuit alleges, amounts to a violation of Utah’s Whistleblower Act, and Pead’s right to free speech. He is seeking back pay, along with an undisclosed amount in compensatory and punitive damages.

Ephraim City’s offices were closed on Tuesday, and the city manager did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Rasmussen retired from the five-person department in September after 28 years as chief. Gasser has served as the interim chief since.

from The Salt Lake Tribune http://ift.tt/2BFOAcg