St. George - In what might be the largest docket in its history, the state's police board Monday booted or disciplined more than 30 peace officers accused of wrongdoing.
The board, called the Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, adjudicated twice as many cases as normal for its quarterly meeting. Winward said the high number was not the sign of an increased discipline problem in Utah police but rather investigators and the board trying to adjudicate cases that had been ongoing.
"We were cleaning things out," Winward said.
The board meeting is coinciding with the annual conference of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association. One of the conference discussion items for Tuesday is titled: "Ethics on the Job: A Continuing Challenge."
The board revoked the certification of former Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., marshals Fred Barlow and Preston Barlow. The two marshals, which worked in the polygamist community on the Utah-Arizona border, already have been decertified in Arizona. They were found to have written to the community's leader, Warren Jeffs, while he was a fugitive and they failed to answer the questions of investigators looking for Jeffs.
