More turmoil hits Mapleton police

MAPLETON — Mapleton's public-safety department continues to struggle with turnover and turmoil.

Just months after the controversial firing of the city's police chief, two more police department employees — an officer and a secretary — recently tendered resignations.

The new police chief also cut the job of the city's animal- control officer, and city officials are thinking about switching emergency-dispatch service providers.

Since January, four Mapleton police officers have either resigned or were fired from their posts. Without offering an explanation — and over the protests of many residents — the City Council in January terminated Police Chief Mike Roberts in the first week of January.

Roberts was an "at-will" employee, which means the City Council doesn't have to give a reason for his termination.

An officer quit last week, apparently for another job. The animal-control officer and department secretary left their jobs within the last two weeks.

This year, demand wasn't sufficient to warrant paying for an animal-control officer, said City Administrator Bob Bradshaw.

Police officers can handle animal-control calls, he said.

In nearby Santaquin, a city of similar size, a police officer is also charged with animal-control duties, according to a city representative.

Mapleton Police Chief Dean Pettersson has hired two new police officers. The six-person force is made up of a sergeant, a corporal, the police chief and three patrol officers.

"We're now fully staffed," Bradshaw said. "The city has never been under strength."

Under Roberts, the police force reached nine for a short time, including Roberts and the animal-control officer.

The City Council considered disbanding its police department in 2000 so it could contract police services with Utah County Sheriff David Bateman and his deputies.

Angry residents opposed that measure. In the wake of their wrath, then-Police Chief Bret Barney resigned and the department's sergeant was fired as a temporary chief.

Roberts was hired later that year, which seemed to quell public-safety concerns.