FBI finds no criminal activity by Ephraim police chief

The FBI announced Wednesday it has closed its review of allegations against Ephraim police Chief Ron Rasmussen and will not file federal criminal charges.

About a month ago, the FBI confirmed it was looking into an unspecified case involving the department. That was just days after the public release of a Utah County Sheriff’s Office investigation, which concluded that Rasmussen was responsible for hundreds of incomplete police reports.

Of 272 incomplete reports from February 2007 to June 2017, Rasmussen was responsible for 237, according to the sheriff’s report. Since the county’s investigation concluded, Rasmussen has completed 150 of the backlog, Ephraim Manager Brant Hanson said Wednesday.

In addition to the discrepancies in record keeping, the report said, the department failed to follow policy protocols. For example, community members would call Rasmussen’s cellphone directly to request police assistance rather than calling dispatch, and Rasmussen would cover patrol shifts for officers rather than giving priority to his administrative duties.

Three patrol officers, who accounted for more than half of the then-five-man force, accused the chief of misconduct in June, and Rasmussen was placed on paid administrative leave during the Utah County Sheriff’s Office investigation, as required by city and state policy.

Despite the findings of the probe, county investigators said that while Rasmussen acted negligently, his negligence was not criminal. Ephraim officials reinstated Rasmussen to his position as head of the city’s police department in Sanpete County.

The three officers — Larry Golding, Jared Hansen and Darren Pead — submitted a strongly worded letter to city officials, which included their resignation the “moment” Rasmussen was reinstated.

“We have lost all confidence in our chief,” the officers wrote, adding that they “cannot and will not serve as public servants under” his leadership.

The city has since filled all three vacancies, Hanson said, and has added a fourth patrol officer to the department, which the city had budgeted prior to the investigation.

During his time on leave, Rasmussen was required to complete a Corrective Action Plan, which addresses each problem found by investigators.

After the resignations, Rasmussen and Sgt. Len Gasser — the department’s two remaining full-time employees — alternated 24-hour shifts until new officers were hired, Hanson said. This slowed the original progress on actions mentioned in the plan, Hanson said. But the chief has now “made great headway” on catching up on reports, particularly on the ones that need minimal investigation, like incidents in which people were locked out of cars or homes.

For the reports involving incidents of a more ”serious nature,” which require a deeper investigation, Hanson said, many will be reassigned to the new officers so the chief can focus on his administrative responsibilities.

The Corrective Action Plan states that the chief will spend two to three hours a day working to catch up on reports. After two months, the chief has completed more than 60 percent of the number of backlogged cases, Hanson said.

The plan also includes a commitment to increase delegation of tasks, like covering shifts and fingerprinting duties, to the sergeant and other officers. The chief wrote that he will direct anyone reporting an incident to contact dispatch.

The department also will document problems with officers, even “minor” in nature, and Gasser will be in charge of disciplining officers.

Rasmussen also committed to updating the force’s policy manual, the plan said. Rasmussen has been meeting with Hanson on a weekly basis to review his progress, the city manager said.

The department is focusing on a ”collaborative approach” with the new officers to create new policies and procedures that will work for their specific community, Hanson said.

“There‘s still a number of things we’re working on improving,” Hanson said. ”There’s definitely an internal dialogue going on ... of how we need to move forward.”

The issues with the police department have drawn great interest from community members, Hanson said, and the dispute between the patrol officers and chief has ”divided the community,” making it ”challenging” for city officials to move forward.

But the city’s main priority at this point is to ”fix the department and make sure the city is safe,” Hanson said.