The commitment of Salt Lake City’s political class to racial equity in criminal justice needs to extend past soundbites in the wake of police shootings. The victims of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — all of whom are over-represented in the city’s racial minority groups — deserve more attention. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any serious effort to empower the Salt Lake Police Department to combat historic increases in these violent crimes.
Murders are at the same elevated pace as last year — up 17.6% on the five-year average. Rapes are up 21% in just one year, and victims are disproportionately women of color. Aggravated assaults are up 43%. Domestic-related aggravated assaults were already up 31% in 2020 and, so far this year, have increased by another 2.2%. The costs of these crimes do not fall on the residents of the wealthy Salt Lake City neighborhoods. These costs crash disproportionately upon the most impoverished westside communities. The cries for help from those areas fall on deaf, white, eastside ears.
The deterrent and operational capabilities of the Salt Lake City Police Department have decreased over the past year due to a political climate hostile to individual officers. It wasn’t COVID-19 that caused a massive number of officers to voluntarily leave the department, it was a City Council and Mayor’s Office that mismanaged public safety. The agency is down 84 officers out of the 503 that are funded for service in Salt Lake City. Voluntary resignations (not including retirements) have soared to never-before-seen levels since May 2020, and the trend shows no signs of slowing.
New hiring cannot make up for ground lost to resignations. The council hoped that lateral transfers from other agencies would fill in the gap — but only four eligible officers from across the state answered the call. Just a few years ago Salt Lake City had its pick of officers from around the state and region. That is no longer the case, as officers see the political leadership in the city as perfectly aligned against their own interests. This should not be a surprise — why would any officer subject themselves to the political showmanship demonstrated over the last year?
When Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal was alleged to have robbed several people in Salt Lake City at gunpoint last year, two Salt Lake City officers bravely chased him to prevent further victims. When Palacios-Carbajal refused to lay down his gun, even stopping several times to pick it up after dropping it, he was shot and killed. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office later determined Palacios-Carabjal had pointed his gun at officers during the incident, and eventually ruled the shooting justified.
Councilmember Amy Fowler immediately called the shooting “unlawful.” It was not, nor has she ever retracted those words or apologized to the officers for slandering them.
What is unlawful are the historic increases in robberies. What should garner her outrage is the increasing numbers of rape victims. Why do the 596 victims of violent crime this year in Salt Lake City not deserve at least the same attention from the mayor and council they gave to a convicted armed robber?
The Salt Lake Police Department and the city it proudly protects are in crisis, and yet political leadership is absent from comment until a police shooting occurs. No racial equity commission will bring justice for those victims. But police can, and do, when they are given the political support and resources necessary to do the work.
It is time for Mayor Erin Mendenhall to attend to the cries and blood on the west side of her city, even when it doesn’t involve the sound of an officer’s gun.
Ian Adams | Executive Director Utah Fraternal Order of Police
Ian Adams, is executive director of the Utah Fraternal Order of Police