Efforts to disband Granite police force fall short

Ending weeks of soap opera-like twists, the Legislature essentially killed for the year an effort to disband the sometimes controversial Granite School District Police Department.

Some of those earlier twists had included Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, dropping his original sponsorship of the bill after the Deseret Morning News learned that his son had been arrested for fighting by that department — and questions arose about whether he was seeking political payback.

Another is that Granite officer Jeromy Orton — whose wife, Holly, leaked word of that arrest while making misleading statements about who she is — had been punished administratively by the district for discussing confidential data about minors. And Granite officials insisted they were not behind the leak and hardball politics.

The House voted 39-30 Thursday to block Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, who sponsored the bill after Holdaway withdrew, from substituting a new version designed to keep the issue alive after weakening amendments were made earlier in committee.

That new substitute would have required school districts with police departments (Granite is the only one in the state) to study for a year the pros and cons of alternatives, such as contracting with other police departments, and to report to legislative interim committees.

When that died, Allen chose not to pursue the committee-weakened version of the original bill. Without firmly nailing the coffin shut on the bill, the House voted to "circle" it — meaning it could come back up for consideration, although it appears unlikely.

Holdaway's original version of the bill would have forced Granite to disband its department. He introduced it a few days after Granite Lt. Todd Rasmussen was charged with armed assault for the October shooting of an unarmed burglary suspect after a high-speed chase in Salt Lake City, which is outside district boundaries.

Granite police — which have statewide jurisdiction — have been involved in other controversial chases and shootings outside the district. Officials say that happens because suspects cross jurisdiction boundaries. The department's costs — which come from general education funds — are also sometimes controversial.

The Morning News looked at controversy over the department in a Sunday Extra last month. It is available online here: School patrol.