Salt Lake City Police Department Explained

Agencyname:Salt Lake City Police Department
Commonname:Salt Lake City Police
Abbreviation:SLCPD, SLPD
Patch:UT - Salt Lake City Police.jpg
Flag:Flag of Salt Lake City (2020).svg
Flagcaption:Flag of Salt Lake City, Utah
Motto:Serving with Integrity
Formedyear:1851
Employees:620
Budget:$70,901,619
Country:United States of America
Countryabbr:USA
Divtype:State
Divname:Utah
Subdivtype:City
Subdivname:Salt Lake City
Map:Salt Lake County Utah incorporated and unincorporated areas Salt Lake City highlighted.svg
Sizearea:110.4sqmi
Sizepopulation:200,591
Legaljuris:Salt Lake City, Utah
Police:Yes
Local:Yes
Headquarters:475 South 300 East,
Salt Lake City, Utah
Sworntype:Police Officers
Sworn:567
Unsworntype:Civilian
Unsworn:122
Electeetype:Mayor of Salt Lake City
Minister1name:Erin Mendenhall
Chief1name:Mike Brown
Chief1position:Chief of Police
Chief2name:Lance vanDongen
Chief2position:Deputy Chief - Administration Bureau
Chief5name:Brian Purvis
Chief5position:Deputy Chief - Investigations Bureau
Chief6name:LaMar Ewell
Chief6position:Deputy Chief - Patrol Bureau
Parentagency:Salt Lake City
Website:SLCPD site

The Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) is the municipal police force of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

The current Chief of Police, Mike Brown, was appointed by Mayor Jackie Biskupski on May 3, 2016,[1] and previously was the Interim Police Chief from June 11, 2015.

History

The SLCPD was founded in 1851 under the newly created City Charter, when the Mayor authorized a police department to be created. Forty men were appointed, earning 25 cents per hour.[2]

The SLCPD is headquartered in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, at 475 South and 300 East, one block east of the Salt Lake City Public Library. This headquarters is called the Salt Lake City Public Safety Building and is shared with the Salt Lake City Fire Department.[3]

The Salt Lake City Police Department is divided into two bureaus, which are directed from the Office of the Chief. They are the Administrative Bureau and the Operations Bureau and each is commanded by a Deputy Chief of Police. The bureaus, in turn, are divided into eight different divisions. Four of those are geographical, where the city is split into Central Patrol, Pioneer Patrol (west) and Liberty Patrol (east), and the Salt Lake City International Airport, whose police merged with the SLCPD on December 31, 2018. Additionally, staff are also allocated to the Special Operations, Investigations, Support and Professional Standards divisions.[4] The Salt Lake Police Association represents over 350 rank and file officers. The association began life as The Salt Lake City Police Mutual Aid Association, established in 1911. After a few iterations, in 1984, the Salt Lake Police Association was formed as an independent union, and won recognition by the City as the exclusive bargaining agent for the officers. Since 2014, the Association stands with the Utah State AFL-CIO in legislative issues to preserve retirement, collective bargaining and other labor issues although presently not an affiliate.[5] The current president is Joe McBride.

High-profile cases

The SLCPD has handled several cases in recent years, most notably the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping in 2002, the murder of Lori Hacking in 2004, the kidnapping and murder of Destiny Norton in 2006, and the shooting spree at Trolley Square in 2007 that resulted in 5 deaths and 4 serious woundings. The department also took part in the Salt Lake City Public Library hostage incident in 1994.

On August 13, 2017, officer Clinton Fox fatally shot Patrick Harmon, an African American man they attempted to arrest for riding a bicycle without proper lighting. Later that same month, footage released on August 31, 2017 show an emergency room incident between the police detective Jeff Payne and the nurse Alex Wubbels at the University of Utah Hospital. Payne asked Wubbels to provide a blood sample from an unconscious patient, and she was arrested when she refused. Payne is no longer working for the department.[6] Wubbels was later released and no charges were brought against her.[7] In September 2017, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office and Unified Police launched an independent criminal investigation into the arrest.[8]

In 2019, the Salt Lake Police Department garnered international attention surrounding the murder of Mackenzie Lueck, a University of Utah student.

In 2020, the Salt Lake Police Department garnered controversy when an officer shot Linden Cameron, an unarmed 13-year old boy with Asperger's syndrome.

Ranks and Insignia

TitleInsignia
Chief of Police
Deputy Chief
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
DetectiveNone
Police OfficerNone

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bureaus and Staff . 7 Dec 2016 . www.slcpd.com . Salt Lake City Police Department.
  2. Web site: Our History. 7 Dec 2016. www.slcpd.com. Salt Lake City Police Department.
  3. Web site: New Public Safety Building in Salt Lake City a Model of Resilience. 8 Dec 2016. www.resilientdesign.org. Resilient Design Institute.
  4. Web site: Bureaus and Staff. www.slcpd.com. Salt Lake City Police Department. 10 Jan 2017.
  5. Web site: History. www.slpa.com. Salt Lake City Police Association. 20 Dec 2016.
  6. Web site: Manson . Pamela . Video shows Utah nurse screaming, being handcuffed after refusing to take blood from unconscious victim . The Salt Lake Tribune . August 31, 2017 . September 6, 2017.
  7. Web site: Reavy . Pat . 'Stop! I've done nothing wrong': Nurse shares police video of 'crazy' arrest by S.L. officer . August 31, 2017 . Deseret News . September 6, 2017.
  8. Web site: Harris . Jeremy . D.A. asks for criminal investigation into arrest of U of U nurse . September 2, 2017 . KUTV . September 6, 2017.