The Granite School District Police Department says it is taking undisclosed "corrective action" against an officer for helping to leak information that a legislator — who was pushing a bill to disband that department — earlier had a young son arrested by it.
After the Deseret Morning News was told about that arrest, Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, withdrew from sponsoring the bill, saying expected questions about whether he was pursuing political payback would make it difficult to move the legislation.
However, his bill has since been picked up by Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, with four co-sponsors including powerful House Speaker Greg Curtis.
Granite School District Superintendent Stephen F. Ronnenkamp gave the news media copies of a letter he sent this week to Holdaway — who is a teacher in Granite district — apologizing for leaks that his son had been arrested after a fight last year.
State law prohibits releasing police reports that name juveniles, and Ronnenkamp's letter also said that even sharing confidential information from them is "prohibited by Granite School District policies."
"We have investigated internally and identified the source of the information," the letter said. It added, "Corrective action has been taken."
District spokesman Randy Ripplinger said the district will not specify what that corrective action was. "We don't get into personnel matters in public," he said.
He said the source of the leak, as described in Ronnenkamp's letter and earlier Morning News stories, is a "Granite Police officer who shared confidential information . . . with his spouse."
The Morning News was tipped about the arrest by a caller identifying herself only as "Holly." She said she was a concerned mother of children in Granite schools who decided to do some digging when she read of Holdaway's bill.
When the News did a "reverse directory" on the call, it showed it came from Holly Orton of Herriman — which is outside Granite district. Further research showed she is married to Granite officer Jeromy Orton. She later said she should have been truthful about who she is and why she called.
Holdaway said he also had numerous calls from other women who would give him only their first names and accused him of ulterior motives with the bill. He said he took the calls as veiled threats to release information about his son if he continued with the bill.
Holdaway said those calls came to his cell phone — which he said he gives to few people but which was listed on the police report. Ripplinger said he had no information about "the trail of the information" once it was shared.
Ronnenkamp's letter said, "The release (of information about the arrest) was not sanctioned, encouraged or approved by the district, and it should not have occurred."
Holdaway said Friday, "I am happy to see they have taken the issue seriously."
Holdaway has said he pushed the bill mainly to save money — Jordan School District recently disbanded its police to save money — and because of concern over controversial shootings and high-speed chases.
Holdaway introduced the bill a few days after Granite Lt. Todd Rasmussen was charged with armed assault for the October shooting of an unarmed burglary suspect after a high-speed chase in Salt Lake City, which is outside district boundaries, although officers have statewide jurisdiction.
The Morning News looked at controversy over the Granite department's operations and costs in a Sunday Extra last month. It is available online at www.deseretnews.com.
E-mail: lee@desnews.com