This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I wrote last month about Holladay resident Steve Unger, known as the "dancing man," getting a citation in Cottonwood Heights for refusing to show his identification to police officers who stopped him.
I've since received calls from residents who thought the 68-year-old retired anesthetist was being harassed in Holladay, too.
Don't fret. Holladay's cool.
To recap: Unger, known in Holladay for wearing colorful clothing during his long walks there and stopping along the way to dance a jig and wave at passing cars, got in trouble when he took one of his dance-walks in nearby Cottonwood Heights while his car was being serviced.
He was stopped by an officer, who said she had complaints he was blocking the road. Unger insists he stays on the curb. She asked for his ID, which he didn't believe he had to supply because he had done nothing wrong.
Another cop came, handcuffed him and kept him in the back of a patrol car for 45 minutes.
Unger has a court date Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Holladay Justice Court on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, failure to disclose identity and interference with an arresting officer.
Since I wrote about that clash, residents have called, saying they have seen Holladay police stop and question Unger.
Unger tells me the Holladay officers often stop just to chat. He never has had a problem with police there. Most of them know him by name. Some even have told him that, when they retire, they would like to join him.
Chief Don Hutson, who heads the Holladay division of Salt Lake County's Unified Police Department, has given Unger his personal cellphone number and told him to call if he ever encounters a problem.
Meanwhile, I heard from a woman named Margaret — who didn't want her last name used for fear of reprisals. She told of her own nightmare with Cottonwood Heights police two years ago.
She and her boyfriend had attended a birthday party at a private residence near 3500 East and Fort Union Boulevard. They knew they would be drinking, and they lived within walking distance, so they didn't drive.
Walking home about 2 a.m., they were stopped by a Cottonwood Heights officer, who told the couple to sit on the curb and began interrogating them. Another officer arrived. When they asked why they were stopped, they were told to shut up or they would be arrested.
They were ordered to blow into a Breathalyzer. Both registered slightly above the 0.08 alcohol level that is the legal limit for driving.
But they were walking.
The two were charged with public intoxication and initially pleaded not guilty. They later pleaded guilty and each paid the $300 fine after determining it would cost them much more for an attorney to fight the charges.
Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, co-chairman of the Legislature's Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee, has taken an interest in complaints about police overreach, particularly in Cottonwood Heights.
He has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 21 and has invited Unger to testify. Weiler also is one of several lawyers who offered to defend Unger free of charge.