Two Brigham City police officers were expected to be arraigned in federal court Friday on charges of receiving illegal drugs through the mail.
Darrell J. Glover, 35, and Susan N. Kozak, 45, were arrested Thursday afternoon in their hometown of Willard, Box Elder County.The arrests follow an investigation by the Box Elder County sheriff's office, the Brigham City Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspector's Office.
"It's going to be a black eye to the (police) department for quite a while," lamented Brigham Police Chief Charles Earl, who described Glover and Kozak as "excellent officers" who had no record of misdeeds.
Nevertheless, the city has suspended Glover and Kozak without pay and plans to terminate them during a closed City Council meeting April 21, Earl said.
The investigation began six months ago when the sheriff's office received a tip from a confidential informant that a police officer was receiving drugs through the mail, said Sheriff Bob Limb.
Drug-sniffing dogs were unable to "hit" on any narcotics because of the way the packages were wrapped, so postal inspectors obtained a search warrant, which they used Wednesday to open a package in a Salt Lake postal center.
The inspectors found an undisclosed quantity of an undisclosed controlled substance inside the package, which was then wrapped back up and sent along in the mail. It was addressed to the Willard post office box of Kozak, a 15-year veteran of the Brigham City Police Department.
Deputies and postal inspectors staked out the Willard Post Office Thursday, arresting Glover when he came to pick up the package.
Officers then went to Kozak's home and arrested her. Inspectors searched the home, but it was unknown whether they found any additional evidence, said Kenny Adams, the sheriff's chief deputy.
Earl said he has no idea why the two officers, who had recently been living together, got into trouble with the law. Both had apparently been having personal problems in their families, however, Earl said.
Kozak was a part-time dispatcher who also worked in the domestic violence, checks and detective divisions. Glover was a patrolman who had once worked for three years in detectives.
Limb, who has been in Box Elder law enforcement for 33 years, said this is the first case in the county involving police officers and drugs. It was the first case in the county involving drugs through the mail since the Vietnam War, when soldiers would send marijuana home to friends, Limb said.