SALT LAKE CITY — The lieutenant over Utah Highway Patrol’s DUI squad is out amid problems discovered during an audit and internal affairs investigation.
Lt. Brad Horne elected to retire when faced with a two-step demotion to the position of trooper, UHP officials confirmed to KSL and the Deseret News.
“It’s something that’s not pleasant. It’s not pleasant for us as a highway patrol,” UHP Sgt. Todd Royce said.
But Utah Highway Patrol officials insist Horne's actions and the actions of several others in the department are not indicative of institutional problems.
Horne was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this year. At the time, UHP officials said the leave was related to a complaint from a private citizen.
In a July “intent to discipline” letter obtained through an open records request, UHP Col. Daniel Fuhr outlined several policy violations:
“You have conducted multiple traffic stops which appear to lack probable cause, destroyed contraband or evidence, instructed subordinates to conduct inappropriate law enforcement activities, instructed subordinates to stop audio recordings of your conversations with them on the scene of a traffic stop and used your position in the patrol to secure personal loans,” the letter states.
“Each of these offenses is in violation of policy and undermines the mission of the patrol to provide professional police and traffic services and to protect the constitutional rights of all people in Utah.”
The letter from Fuhr noted multiple occasions when the supposed policy violations took place, and outlined the supposed loan arrangements Horne made.
“In December 2013, you asked the owner of a tow company for a loan to pay off credit card debt so that the card could be used to reserve hotel rooms for a DUI squad enforcement activity. You later borrowed additional money from the man totaling several thousands of dollars,” the letter states.
“Although you deny using your position in the UHP to obtain the loan, it was not possible for you to avoid doing so. You knew the man because his tow company is on contract with the state and UHP. You put him in an impossible position when you asked for a loan because he knew that you were the commander of the DUI squad and that refusing to loan you money could result in less business for his company as you could have influenced the rotation of companies used for tow services.”
Sgt. Todd Royce said that matter was referred to Ogden police for investigation, and subsequently the Weber County attorney.
A separate letter signed by deputy Weber County attorney Branden B. Miles said there was no evidence to support any criminal prosecution and that the matter was a civil issue between the parties.
Troubles, Royce said, were first detected during a monthly audit.
After prosecutors declined prosecution, Royce said an internal affairs investigation yielded additional issues.
The letter said on Aug. 14, 2014, during a traffic stop involving a group of motorcycles, Horne told a trooper to arrest a man that he believed to be one of the drivers on suspicion of DUI and administer field sobriety tests, after noticing him in a crowd of onlookers.
The letter noted the troopers sought a warrant, which was denied by a judge.
“Even so, you persisted and ordered the trooper to book the man into jail and issue a DUI citation,” the letter read. “The trooper refused to do so because he believed there was no probable cause for the action. I believe you were fully aware that your order was improper as you never discussed charging the trooper with insubordination with any superior or HR.”
Referencing other cases outlined in the letter, Fuhr continued:
“These are just three examples of traffic stops you conducted where the probable cause for the stop is weak at best. Multiple troopers report that it was common for you to stop vehicles and then turn them over to other troopers for investigation with weak probable cause and no video evidence to back your statements. Others reported that you instructed them to stop audio recordings during traffic stops. Still other times after questionable stops, you submitted reports so late that no action could be taken, effectively burying the matter.”
Fuhr noted that over the course of Horne's 27-year career, he "accomplished a great deal of good."
But he added: "However, that same experience makes it difficult for me to believe that vehicle stops with questionable probable cause, destroying evidence or ordering subordinates to make improper arrests were due to any misunderstanding of policy and procedure by you.”
Horne's lawyer, Greg Skordas, said neither he nor his client had any comment on the matter at this time.
This wasn’t the first time UHP had a personnel matter related to its DUI squad and DUI arrests.
Lisa Steed was fired in 2012 and then later sued over claims she falsified DUI reports and made bogus arrests and stops.
In May, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced he may have to dismiss 20 to 40 cases related to former trooper Neil Green over “credibility issues” that rose from a DUI report that said field sobriety tests had been conducted when in fact they had not.
UHP officials at the time said there was insufficient evidence to prove Green intentionally falsified the DUI report.
Royce said this week that these cases did not reflect institutional issues, and that the patrol takes these matters seriously.
“(These are) individual issues with people,” Royce said. “The information that was presented to us came through an internal audit, not a citizen’s complaint, not someone coming in and saying, ‘Look, there’s something going on here or something illegal going on here.' This is something that we looked at and we found, and that’s how it came to light.”
UHP, Royce said, conducts audits monthly for the purpose of detecting potential problems.
“We do audits all the time for computer use, for DUI procedures, for arrest techniques, for almost anything — time sheets,” Royce said. “Ninety-nine percent of the troopers out there are doing good work, but every once in a while we come across some issues that we need to do better as an organization, and we come across some personnel issues that need to be addressed, and in this case that’s what happened — a personnel issue.”
Royce said the DUI squad is now being led by the section lieutenant for Salt Lake County and Utah Highway Patrol is in the process of finding a new leader for the unit.
Email: aadams@deseretnews.com