Hildale officers may be facing decertification
 
By Nancy Perkins and Jennifer Dobner
Deseret Morning News
 
A new report from the Utah Attorney General's Office says seven Hildale police officers have failed to uphold state laws and should be considered for decertification by the state's police academy.

The report alleges that the seven officers knew of crimes being committed by others in the department and in the community but failed to investigate or alert other authorities.

Among the violations considered in investigator Ron Barton's report are crimes typically associated with the practice of polygamy, including underage marriage and child bigamy.

Hildale and its Arizona twin, Colorado City, are home to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which teaches plural marriage. Nearly all of the 6,000 residents of the area are members of the church. The report includes a list of officers that the Attorney General's Office says are engaged in plural marriage.

The two-binder, inches-thick report has been turned over to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which certifies law officers in the state, Shurtleff said.

"I'm asking them to consider the findings. Their job is to recommend what type of action should be taken," Shurtleff said. "I think there's probably grounds for decertification, but (POST Council) may recommend something else."

Shurtleff's office is not presently seeking criminal charges against any of the seven, although Shurtleff has not ruled out prosecution. He has no plans to prosecute anyone for bigamy, he said.

Hildale Mayor David Zitting called the report "an attack on a community with religious convictions."

"I don't know what more to say about this," said Zitting, who has been the mayor of Hildale for more than 20 years. "I haven't met Ron Barton, but I have heard about him quite a bit from other people. I've been told that Ron Barton has been on private property here many times, that he just shows up, asks questions, takes pictures and looks through things that aren't his."

The Attorney General's Office began an investigation into the Hildale police late last fall after the August 2003 felony conviction of officer Rodney Holm for bigamy for having taken a 16-year-old girl as his "spiritual wife." Holm was later decertified as a police officer.

In December, Shurtleff asked POST to consider the decertification of other Hildale officers.

Rod Parker, attorney for the FLDS Church, who also represents Holm, said the report is another attempt by the Attorney General's Office to single out those practicing what is their deeply held religious belief.

"Mark Shurtleff is saying the police officers in Hildale and Colorado City failed to act on knowledge they had about a particular crime, which is bigamy," said Parker. "It's the same crime that Shurtleff says he isn't going to prosecute. That's a double standard."

POST director Sid Groll said that following its policy, the POST Council won't consider decertification of any officer until after the report is considered for possible investigation and legal action by the Washington County attorney and sheriff's offices. Groll said he had sent both offices letters asking for their feedback.

As of Wednesday, Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap had yet to receive a copy of the attorney general's report.

"When I do, I will review it and make a decision, just like I do with any other case," said Belnap, who is running unopposed for re-election in November.

Most of the Hildale officers are also certified peace officers in Arizona. The Arizona Attorney General's Office has received a copy of the report, but spokeswoman Andrea Esquer said she could not comment as to the existence of any parallel investigations being conducted there.

In the 1980s, Arizona authorities had sought to decertify Colorado City Marshal Sam Barlow on the grounds that he was a practicing polygamist. But on appeal, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that plural marriage, although forbidden in the state constitution, was not in state statute and could not be used as grounds for decertification, said Diana Stabler, an assistant attorney general who works at Arizona's POST.
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Thursday, June 10, 2004
 
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