Mayor Shifts Support Of Police Disciplinary Record Protection Bill

Feb 19, 2008 by Jeff Robinson

(KCPW News) Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is now shifting his previous support of a bill that would keep police disciplinary records private in certain cases. The mayor says the information his administration received on the bill when he came into office didn't cover all the details.

"This bill was presented to me, and to those of us during the transition, as a piece of clean-up legislation that was going to bring the city's code section into conformance with the county's code section," said the mayor.

Mayor Becker says now that he's reviewed the specific language of the bill, he wants it to be amended.

The mayor says while he wants police officers to be able to keep their records private while complaints are investigated, he wants the bill to make it clear that after the appeals process is over, the complaint and the results of the investigation will be made public.

"Once that disciplinary review and complaint has run its course, which includes the charge, the investigation, an initial reaction, and if the police officer chooses, an appeal of that initial decision, then it is appropriate for that action to be available to the public," he said.

Right now, the bill is being held by the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee. It's sponsored by Republican Senator Chris Buttars.

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