BUSINESSES."
LOCAL BUSINESSES." That's the voice of the fraternal order of police --
the largest organization of
officers in Utah.
They are not happy
about a recent change in how
West Valley City police
manages off-duty security jobs.
Neither are a handful of
businesses -- the KSL
investigators learned are in
some cases -- paying áTWICEá
as much for those services.
Is it unreasonable -- or a
move to be more competitive
with going rates?
This letter,
obtained exclusively by KSL..
shows how seriously the FOP
views the issue. They are
prepared to file a lawsuit..
saying the change quote,
"marks a disturbing, and
possibly illegal trend in the
way in which law enforcement
officers interface with local
businesses for secondary
employment." The city..
sees it differently.
:39-:44 2:42-2:53 IAN
ADAMS: "it's just a really bad
outcome for officers and for
local businesses"
Bad outcomes, says Ian Adams,
Executive Director of Utah
Fraternal Order of Police,
after West Valley City Police
Department raised their rates
for off duty officers, pricing
many businesses out of hired
protections they've enjoyed
for years. Back in
January, West Valley Police
finalized a contract with
Texas-based Off Duty
Management. The goal?
Manage these side gigs for
their officers to better
protect them and evenly
distribute the jobs. The
company's wesite advertisers
insurance, workers comp, and
other perks for departments
"at no cost to the agency."
But, those costs went
elsewhere. IAN ADAMS,
UTAH FOP: "UNFORTUNATELY,
PRICES FOR THESE LOCAL
BUSINESSES WENT THROUGH THE
ROOF." 53 Three years
ago, West Valley officers were
negotiating their own rates
directly with businesses.
Now, it's $57 an hour for an
officer with a two hour
minimum. Compare that to
$45 an hour for Salt Lake City
Police, and Unified's flexible
rates which average $38 an
hour. Tooele Police,
which also uses Off Duty
Management, charges $60 an
hour. Adams says
by their count, 11 of 15 West
Valley businesses that
regularly hired off duty
officers have cut ties with
the city. ADAMS: "THERE'S NO
REASON TO COST THESE LOCAL
BUSINESSES HUNDREDS OF 1000S
OF DOLLARS MORE" Hospital:
$558,007.20 - $291,895.20
Increase
$48,906 - $25,506 Increase
Redwood Drive In/Swap Meet: $143,457.60 -$86,257.60 Increase
$228,337.20 - Increase
Franklin Covey: $558,007.20 - $339,007.20 Increase
Theaters: $65,208 - $34,008
Life Church: $33,264.40 - $17,664 Increase
Hollywood High School: $81,510 - $55,510 Increase
High School : $35,864.40 $34,570 Increase Hundreds of thousands is right.
These are estimated by FOP for
businesses after
And take a look at these
emails between these
businesses and West Valley
City Police, obtained by
public records request.
Walmartonce paying
$560,000 per year, now paying
close to a million dollars.
St. Mark's Hospital
suggests raising rates would
mean cutting "24 officers"
they employ from West Valley.
BEN HORSLEY,
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR,
GRANITE SCHOOL DISTRICT:
00:03:28 "WE'RE ALWAYS GOING
TO TRY TO LOOK FOR THE
CHEAPEST ALTERNATIVE." 31
The rate hike meant
Granite School District
stopped hiring West Valley
police for their night school
and big events like football
games. BEN HORSLEY,
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR,
GRANITE SCHOOL DISTRICT:
00:04:44 "WE JUST TRY TO GET
THE BEST DEAL FOR TAXPAYERS
THAT WE CAN." 47
And while officers would love
to make $50 an hour in a side
gig, Adams says now, there
aren't enough jobs to go
around. And regular,
reliable jobs officers had are
now spread out across the
whole department, cutting
their hours.IAN ADAMS: "WE'VE
ALREADY BEGUN TO SEE OFFICERS
LEAVING THE DEPARTMENT, AT A
TIME WHEN IT'S ALREADY
DIFFICULT TO RECRUIT AND
RETAIN QUALIFIED OFFICERS."
SCOTT BUCHANAN: "WE FEEL THAT
IT HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT
PROGRAM FOR WEST VALLEY CITY"
KSL Investigators
took all of this to West
Valley Police, Deputy Chief
Scott Buchanan told us the
change is about eliminating
risk. he believes
the new policy, ultimately
will lead to "good outcomes."
Buchanan points to
many lawsuits across the
country where off duty
officers have hurt people,
discharged their weapons, or
gotten hurt themselves.
BUCHANAN: "THE CONSEQUENCES
THERE COULD BE SEVERE IN TERMS
OF COST TO YOU, THINGS NOT
NECESSARILY BEING COVERED BY
WORKERS COMPENSATION
INSURANCE, AND OF COURSE, EVEN
RISK RELATED ISSUES LIKE
LAWSUITS" This
became an issue for Salt Lake
City Police back in 2014, when
a journalist sued the
department after its off duty
officer guarding the Chevron
refinery allegedly violated
his 1st amendment rights.
In 2018, two state
audits found that police
departments needed to come up
with better ways of managing
those risk factors, and "UNIFY
POLICE SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT
POLICIES'" was the ultimate
suggestion. Buchanan says
the move to hire ODM does just
that, and will help avoid
other bad outcomes. SCOTT
BUCHANAN: "We believe that it
is the best practice possible
for secondary employment for
police officers"
West Valley City hopes
some of the businesses they've
previously served.. will look
to private security
contractors.. to see if that
might be a better option for
them. For more details on
this change in off-duty job
management.. visit ksl-tv dot
com.
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