Taylorsville to launch its police force Friday

TAYLORSVILLE — At 12:00:01 a.m. Friday, a new police force, 50-strong, will be patrolling the streets here.

Wednesday evening, in front of a cheering crowd of family and appreciative Taylorsville residents, all 50 took the oath of office, promising to uphold the U.S. and Utah constitutions and vowing to serve their duties with "fidelity."

On what Mayor Janice Auger called "really a historic night for the city of Taylorsville," the officers who will fill the roles formerly filled by deputies of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office were sworn in.

For some of them, it won't really be that new at all. Auger said about half of the officers were hired from the sheriff's office, and some of them worked the Taylorsville beat as deputies.

The City Council approved the formation of the city's own police department in September on a 3-2 vote, with two council members expressing concerns not about the idea of a city police department but about the process by which it was created and the speed with which council members took the issue on.

"It was not an easy decision to break away from a long-term philosophy of contracting for law enforcement," Auger told the audience Thursday. "But there are many reasons why now is the right time to start a PD in Taylorsville."

Among those reasons, she said, was that the city found "a great man," Larry Marx, to serve as the department's chief.

She said the officers, many of whom had never worked together before about 10 days ago, seem eager and more than capable of creating a strong force. "There is already a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood," she said.

Marx also lauded his new force, saying a good police officer needs to have at his or her core a passion for service to the community.

"The men and women I am going to introduce you to have that passion," he said. "They do not desire to be mediocre."

The City Council voted in August to drop its contract with the county sheriff's office because, as Auger told the Deseret Morning News at the time, "we don't have the stability we need." About 33 deputies have been patrolling the city, and the county wanted to charge the city about $120,000 per deputy. It has been estimated the new department will cost the city $4.6 million a year.