The Salt Lake City Police Department could be in for some policy changes — presumably concerning the way its officers investigate cases and disseminate information to the public — following an internal investigation into police procedure during the Elizabeth Smart investigation.
The internal investigation, released to the media Wednesday, found no wrongdoing by the police department and will likely result in no police discipline, but Salt Lake Police Chief Rick Dinse held out that policy changes could be in order. He declined, however, to speculate what policies might need changing.
Mayor Rocky Anderson, who had ordered Dinse to conduct the investigation, would not comment on the report because he and the chief hadn't reviewed the entire document. His spokesman, though, did confirm that policy changes, not specific police officer discipline, may occur.
"They are still having discussions about what we can do to make things better in the future," said Josh Ewing, Anderson's spokesman.
The internal investigation examined three specific rumors that Anderson had heard from sources within the community regarding the Smart family and the Elizabeth Smart investigation. Anderson characterized the rumors as "vicious" and had heard that certain detectives were the sources of the rumors.
But for two rumors the internal investigation found "the allegations to be unfounded" and in the third concluded that "there is insufficient evidence to support a conclusion as to whether the employee violated policy."
Anderson had also requested intelligence regarding "misinformation" police had provided concerning the time that the Smart family called police the night Elizabeth was abducted. Following an hourlong meeting with Anderson Wednesday, Dinse acknowledged that the internal investigation and criticism of his department had been damaging.
"Morale has been hurt by this, certainly (the morale) of the detectives involved in this case," Dinse told KSL-TV. "These detectives gave their heart to this thing. They lived this investigation for nine months."
Additionally, Anderson wanted answers as to why police were reluctant to pursue "Emmanuel," later identified as Brian David Mitchell, as a suspect. Elizabeth Smart was found with Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee on a Sandy street in March.
Dinse's report said both those issues were sealed. They are under a protective order, signed by 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton, regarding information in the case against Mitchell and Barzee, who have been charged in Smart's abduction.
Also, a letter from FBI special-agent-in-charge James "Chip" Burris cited federal law prohibiting Dinse from releasing information that might "interfere with enforcement proceedings or disclose investigative techniques."
Ewing said Dinse and Anderson would be able to discuss those issues verbally in future meetings, later this week or next.
The report also determined that the department's policies regarding training, accountability for leaks, secure crime scenes and investigative tactics were sound.
Anderson, among others, had questioned whether police secured the Smarts' house as a crime scene in the minutes and hours immediately following Elizabeth's abduction. There were some reports that neighbors had free rein to wander through the house, possibly tainting evidence that could be used to find Elizabeth or prosecute her abductor.
The fallout over media and other leaks during the Elizabeth Smart investigation has been widespread. It came to light in April that two Salt Lake Tribune reporters sold leaked and false information to a national tabloid, the National Enquirer, which later retracted a July story it printed in the Smart case. That sale led to the firing of reporters Michael Vigh and Kevin Cantera and the resignation of then-Tribune editor-in-chief James Shelledy.
The Smart family hired local attorney Randy Dryer to investigate the police sources that fed sensitive information to Vigh and Cantera. Dryer completed his investigation and forwarded that information to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, the Utah Attorney General's Office and U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City, among others.
Last month, District Attorney David Yocom concluded that no Salt Lake City police officers had supplied Vigh and Cantera with information and that the sources were law enforcement personnel in the Utah Department of Public Safety, FBI and Secret Service.
Police angst over Anderson's criticism also caused police union leadership to cancel an April meeting with Anderson and instead schedule a meeting with Anderson's chief political rival, Frank Pignanelli, who is bidding to unseat the mayor in the 2003 municipal election.
E-MAIL: bsnyder@desnews.com