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Stockton » This small Tooele County town has a big hero.
Before a standing-room only crowd at the Stockton Fire Station, the Town Council voted unanimously to reinstate Officer Josh Rowell, who was suspended by Mayor Dan Rydalch last week after his son evaded a DUI checkpoint and was then stopped and cited for driving without a license.
The council's move was greeted with a chorus of cheers and applause from 100 residents who crowded into the meeting.
Councilman Mark Whitney, who is running against Rydalch in Tuesday's balloting, moved to reinstate the officer with back pay and to remove any mention of the suspension from his personnel file.
Immediately after the vote, Council Chairman Dave Durtschi informed the audience that he was unsure whether the council had the authority to institute its vote. The town board is seeking an outside investigation and counsel on whether it can reinstate Rowell.
The mayor, who met with the board members in executive session, did not appear at the open meeting that followed. However, a statement from Rydalch was read into the record. He said news media had mischaracterized the episode.
The mayor said he was not angry that his son was cited, but rather that Rowell was "exceeding the scope of the traffic checkpoint" and "refused to cooperate with a superior."
Rydalch informed the council that he was conducting an internal investigation
Before Thursday's meeting, the mayor did not return three telephone calls from The Salt Lake Tribune asking for his interpretation of events.
In addition, council members said they called the special session because they had been unable to communicate with the mayor concerning the incident.
During the council meeting, both Rowell and Police Chief Heinz Kopp gave similar renditions of the events in question. Both men said that Rydalch got angry that the officer had cited his son and fired Rowell on the spot.
The chief said he was able to get Rydalch to reduce the penalty to indefinite suspension without pay.
Kopp characterized the mayor's actions as "inappropriate and unprofessional." And, the chief said, "I support Josh Rowell 100 percent."
Councilman Kendall Thomas called on Rydalch to resign.
"We need a mayor the town board can trust," he said. "I want to offer an apology from the town board to Officer Rowell and his family."
Longtime Stockton resident Frank Anderson summed up the atmosphere at the meeting when he said, "I think the mayor should be fired."
"It was an abuse of power," Anderson said. "I think Rydalch has severely damaged his chances of getting re-elected."
