A Salt Lake police officer who contends the police department did not adequately investigate a string of unsolved homicides of young women was fired Monday for "insubordination and other grounds."
But Frank Hatton-Ward III and his attorney believe the termination is the latest barrage in a "systematic attack" against him ever since he went public with allegations that detectives and administrators were derelict in the investigation.A 14-year veteran with the department, Hatton-Ward was terminated on Monday "following an inquiry into allegations of insubordination and other grounds," according to a brief press release issued from the office of Chief Michael Chabries, who referred all further inquiries to the city attorney's office, which would not comment further.
Hatton-Ward's attorney said the termination - which, in addition to insubordination, alleges violation of press policy and disclosure of confidential information - is a bad response to a sincere effort by the officer to get someone to investigate leads that he and two crime analysts developed.
Hatton-Ward said the department had been trying hard to fire him ever since he and former crime analysts Jon Ilk and Greg Chase - both of whom have resigned - went public last May with complaints that the detective division did not seriously consider leads they developed regarding circumstances surrounding the deaths of several young women who were slain in 1985 and 1986.
The three said they had information that the homicides were committed by members of a local gang, one of whom is serving a life sentence for capital murder.
The department, however, has said that the leads and theories provided by the three were investigated completely and deemed unfounded.
Though the homicides remain unsolved, one detective - who no longer works for the department - said he believes the women's killer was Paul Ezra Rhoades, who is on Idaho's death row after being convicted of three slayings in the Idaho Falls area.
Hatton-Ward's attorney, Suzanne Dallimore, said the allegations cited in the officer's termination are common in whistle-blower cases.
"The reason for this termination has nothing to do with violation of policy," Dallimore said. "It has everything to do with the fact that these three men believe they have key evidence to the solving of these cases and that the evidence was somehow ignored, lost or destroyed.
"Basically, what Frank was saying was that his superiors were incompetent."
She said the department's response in firing Hatton-Ward was almost predictable.
"(There) has been a systematic attack on Frank. He's been followed, he's been scrutinized. The department has spent more time and energy trying to get the goods on Hatton-Ward than it has on getting evidence to solve the murders."
Dallimore said she and Hatton-Ward are considering whether to file suit this week in 3rd District Court to get his job back under the state whistle-blower act. Hatton-Ward said it is also likely he will appeal the termination to the city Civil Service Commission.
The attorney said Hatton-Ward, Ilk and Chase have been sincere in their desires to get someone to investigate their theories.
When the task force investigating the slayings did not look into their information, the three tried to interest the Salt Lake County attorney's office, the sheriff's office and the state attorney general's office. Each agency refused to start an investigation of its own.
"In desperation, they filed an action in the Utah Court of Appeals." The action was dismissed on a jurisdictional problem.
"The minute it was dismissed, Frank was just hounded," Dallimore said.
She said members of the police department and the Department of Corrections tried to coerce a woman on probation to file a complaint against Hatton-Ward.