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Salt Lake Tribune - Salt Lake
29 January 2007

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Ogden Police Department, Utah

Fired cop says he was made an

Officer Matt Jones guessed it. He's out of a job.
The former Ogden police officer predicted this month that his job wouldn't survive an internal investigation into alleged policy violations, including claims that he stole the wallets of undocumented immigrants during two traffic stops.
On Friday, the termination letter arrived in the mail.
But Jones believes his firing has more to do with his political involvement than wrongdoing. The three-year Ogden officer openly opposed the city's ticket-writing policy last summer, declaring it unjust to gauge pay raises, in part, on how many traffic citations an officer has written.
City officials insist that Jones' discipline has nothing to do with his views, despite that his suspension came just an hour after Mayor Matthew Godfrey discovered that Jones was responsible for a moving van displaying words blasting Godfrey for a police ticket quota.
Police Chief Jon Greiner reiterated the position Sunday, telling The Tribune that Jones' firing is "absolutely not" politically motivated. "I consider it his mechanism of trying to deflect the problem," he said.
The chief said his decision to dismiss Jones is about police integrity. Greiner said he doesn't intend to make an example of Jones, only to enforce policy.
Jones acknowledged some policy infractions - such as failing to notify dispatch of occasional traffic stops or building security checks - but said the more serious accusation of theft is completely untrue.
He plans to challenge his dismissal before the Ogden Civil Service Commission, a three-member panel that decides firefighter and police personnel appeals.
He says he doesn't want reinstatement. He wants his honor.
"I don't want money," he said. "I don't want my job back. I just want people to know that I didn't do these things."
Greiner wouldn't go into specifics about the evidence presented against Jones, but offered Sunday to open the internal investigation file if Jones would authorize it. Jones declined to do so on his attorney's advice, but said he gladly would make the file public after his appeal.
The Ogden City Council has since rescinded its controversial ticket-writing policy, voting in August to junk the standards it enacted just two months before. Jones called the policy's repeal a victory.
The state House is now considering a bill that would bar law enforcement agencies from setting ticket quotas for their officers.
The Tribune contacted Mayor Godfrey for this story, but he declined comment, saying he doesn't work on Sundays. He said he would respond to any questions today.
Jones must appeal his termination to the Civil Service Commission within five days. He hasn't ruled out a future in law enforcement, but even if he prevails, he said his mind is on other things.
The former officer plans to open a butcher shop with his father in Brigham City.

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Article sourced from

Salt Lake Tribune - Salt Lake29 January 2007

Fired cop says he was made an

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Salt Lake Tribune - Salt Lake
29 January 2007