Paighten HarkinsThe police chief for a small Utah town who was arrested Tuesday evening for allegedly driving a police vehicle while intoxicated has been fired.
Mantua Mayor Michael Johnson issued a statement that Chief Zane Zilles “has been terminated."
“We also hope that Mr. Zilles can work his way thru this tough time and find a better path in the future,” Johnson said in the statement. “It appears that prescription meds have claimed another good person’s reputation.”
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper pulled over Zilles at about 5 p.m. on U.S. 91 after noticing he was speeding in a police vehicle without its emergency lights and sirens on, according to a news release. The release stated the driver appeared to be struggling to keep the vehicle in the lane.
A trooper performed a field sobriety tests on Zilles, who was the only person in the car, and Zilles was arrested.
After his arrest, Zilles' blood was drawn for further testing, the release said. It was unclear where the blood draw was conducted.
The trooper then took Zilles to a hospital “due to concern for a medical condition.” Zilles was cited and released at the hospital, “which is common practice for individuals placed under arrest that require medical testing and observation," according to the news release.
Mantua is in Box Elder County, east of Brigham City. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated just over 820 people lived there in 2017.
Paighten is an Enterprise reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune. She covers a variety of topics, including business, health, growth and the legal justice system — sometimes all at once. She is from southern Oklahoma, and lived and worked in the state, most recently at the Tulsa World, before starting at The Tribune in October 2017.