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A central Utah police chief is "trying to put the department back together" after an investigation revealed discrepancies in record keeping and policy protocols that divided the five-man force and led three officers to resign.

Ephraim officials called for the investigation last month after three patrol officers accused Police Chief Ron Rasmussen of misconduct. Rasmussen had been negligent, according to investigators from the Utah County Sheriff's Office, but his negligence was not criminal.

Rasmussen was reinstated June 28 after spending two weeks on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Upon his reinstatement, the three patrol officers — Larry Golding, Jared Hansen and Darren Pead — resigned with a strongly worded letter to city officials, leaving Rasmussen and Sgt. Len Gasser, who'd been interim chief in Rasmussen's absence, to rebuild the department with new officers.

The final report from the investigation was released Monday in response to a request through the Government Records Access and Management Act.

Their findings indicate that Rasmussen was responsible for 237 of 272 incomplete reports from February 2007 to June 2017. The cases ranged from minor encounters, such as animal problems, public intoxication and public service calls, to "very serious" cases, including sexual assault, burglary and theft, according to the report.

In one case, the state Division of Child and Family Services, Office for Victims of Crime and Utah attorney general's office requested records, which involved the alleged sexual assault of two young boys, but the documentation was incomplete and unavailable.

"Being this negligent on reports, though not rising to a criminal level, is far from professional and could possibly open up the city to litigation," investigators wrote.

The department's administrative assistant told investigators that she is "unable to do her job at times due to the chief's negligence," but she vouched for his character.

"The chief is really good with people, but not with paperwork," she told investigators.

Golding expressed concern for victims in the sexual assault case, telling investigators that he believed they may have been victimized again, and he wondered whether repeat assaults would have happened if the initial case had been handled properly. Pead also "became emotional at times during [his] interview, stating that the citizens deserved better. He stated that he felt bad for the victims that had not received justice," investigators said.

The incomplete reports are "probably the most concerning [finding] to the city and to [Rasmussen] himself," City Manager Brant Hanson said Tuesday. He and the Sanpete County city's Mayor Richard Squire requested that the neighboring county's Sheriff's Office investigate.

Investigators did not find evidence that Rasmussen intentionally or maliciously neglected the reports, they wrote.

Completing those reports is a priority for the department, according to Hanson, but the shortage of officers has diverted the chief's attention to catching up.

Rasmussen and Gasser have been rotating 24-hour shifts while the city hires patrol officers. Two of four available positions have been filled, Hanson said, and the city wants to be "selective" in filling the remaining positions.

"We want to make sure we have the right people with the city," Hanson said, adding that it is unclear exactly when these positions will be filled.

Rasmussen told investigators that he had intended to complete the reports but would continually be pulled away to do something else, so he fell behind.

The majority of the incomplete reports are "less than serious" cases, such as 911 hangups, lockouts and minor thefts, Hanson said. Some other cases may have surpassed a statute of limitations for prosecution, he said. It's difficult to give a deadline for when all the reports should be finished, Hanson added, because "some may be more complicated than others."

The plan is for Rasmussen to first fill out the reports that require only a brief description on his part, Hanson said, then "figure out the rest." Some of the cases likely will be reassigned to another officer once Rasmussen records what he's done in the case, the city manager said.

Officers also told investigators that they were concerned about a lack of oversight on clearing reports, and that they believed Gasser had not been "completely reading their reports," while clearing his own and approving incomplete reports from the chief. Gasser denied that allegation when investigators interviewed him.

The report also said officers — because of their mistrust of the chief — did not follow the proper chain of command when they had concerns. Rather than speaking with the sergeant, then the chief, then the city manager or the mayor, they apparently would speak directly with members of the City Council — essentially going over the head of their superiors and not giving them a chance to address problems within the department. Rasmussen told investigators he didn't mind the officers communicating with other city employees, but he believed law enforcement concerns should be handled internally.

Officers in the department also told investigators they were concerned about their safety when responding to calls from the chief.

"Several" community members would reportedly call the chief directly when they needed help, rather than speaking to a dispatcher who is trained to handle emergency calls and continually update responding officers on the situation. Rasmussen would then assign an officer to respond without giving them information about what they were walking into, officers told investigators, sending them in "blind."

When investigators addressed this concern with Rasmussen, he asked for suggestions on how to handle the situation and said he would refer callers to dispatch in the future, the report said.

Rasmussen "should be concentrating on administrative duties," investigators said, and the department should consider adding a detective position and one or two more patrol officers in addition to the replacements for the ones who left. The department says it will hire four officers.

There was no documentation in the department when it came to coaching, counseling and disciplining officers, investigators found. In the past, Gasser told investigators, the chief had discouraged him from writing up officers who did not follow orders, and the lack of accountability bothered the sergeant.

Officers told investigators they didn't trust Rasmussen and didn't believe he knew "how to be a cop" anymore.

Investigators found that Golding and Hansen had purposely unplugged their GPS device in police vehicles to prevent Rasmussen from knowing their location when they met to discuss problems concerning Rasmussen and the way the department was running. If Rasmussen knew they were meeting together, they said, he would come to their location and interrupt their private conversation.

Evidence indicated that Pead had been "very insubordinate on several occasions," the report said, and behaved unprofessionally when writing reports and interacting with people in other jurisdictions.

Calls to Golding, Hansen and Pead were either not returned or the phone numbers available had been disconnected Tuesday.

Policies in the department did not appear to be complete or personalized to fit the needs of the department, the report states. New policies should be completed "as soon as possible," investigators wrote.

But without a complete department, Hanson said, it's been "difficult" to develop comprehensive policies and procedures. City officials hope that once all positions are filled, the officers will work together and give feedback on how they think the policies should work.

City officials have said that they required Rasmussen to complete a "corrective action plan" containing specific ways he will fix past mistakes, as well as what should happen in the future to improve the "overall efficiency" of the department. Rasmussen also is to take on more of a "traditional" administrative role as chief, rather than a patrol-oriented one, Hanson has said.

"It's in the past," Rasmussen said Tuesday afternoon of the ordeal. "I'm trying to put the department back together. I feel bad that the officers left and were not willing to sit down and work through the issues."

The city manager said it's "unfortunate" that the city lost the three "great" patrol officers.

"We were hoping to correct the culture there. As you can see, it was divided," Hanson said. "Now we're looking forward to the future."

Twitter: @mnoblenews