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Ephraim's police chief was placed on paid administrative leave last week, pending an investigation into undisclosed allegations levied against him.
Police Chief Ron Rasmussen has been on leave since last Friday, according to city manager Brant Hansen.
Hansen declined to talk about the nature of the allegations against Rasmussen and would not share any details of what the police chief is accused of.
"Placing the chief on administrative leave is not saying he did anything wrong, it's just standard practice," Hansen said.
The Utah County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation into the police chief — and is also investigating the entire Ephraim police department, according to Hansen.
The allegations are specifically against Rasmussen, Hansen said, but the investigation may turn up other issues within the police department.
"The allegations are just that, they're allegations. And we want to determine what level that rises to," Hansen said.
The police department has already made several changes, but Hansen declined to go into details.
Hansen learned of the allegations on June 7 and contacted other police departments to determine the gravity of the accusations. He expects the investigation to take another week.
Ephraim Sgt. Len Gasser will act as chief while Rasmussen is on leave, Hansen said.
Utah County Sheriff's Office spokesman Spencer Cannon declined to comment on the investigation.
The Ephraim police department is a five-person operation, including the chief and Gasser. Ephraim — with a population of nearly 7,000 — is home to Snow College, has an enrollment of about 5,000 students.
Twitter: @tiffany_mf