Give Kennard kudos for plan to consolidate

In 22 years of covering politics, I've come to the conclusion that the rarest of all animals is a political office-holder who voluntarily relinquishes power. You don't see Fidel Castro stepping down with grace and opening his job up to an election, and if you see an elected official in this country loosen his or her grip, you can bet it's because an indictment or two is waiting in the wings.

Which is why you should pay attention to what is about to happen in Salt Lake County. Sheriff Aaron Kennard not only has agreed to give up much of his own power — including 275 of his 350 deputies and most of his squad cars and canine units — he has been a driving force behind the decision that will make this necessary.

If all goes according to plan, the county and up to six cities will form a Unified Police Department that will begin operating at the end of this year. Instead of being the king of the county's largest police force, he will be one of seven or so members of a board that oversees the new department and hires a chief.

When I reached him by phone this week, the sheriff sounded a little like a guy who had just decided to give up a lifelong career and join a monastery. He may be sure of his decision, but he can't really believe he actually did what he did.

"I hate to leave a legacy of destroying the sheriff's office," he said. "It was tough to do. That's for sure."

But destroying the sheriff's office may be the only way to eventually bring a sane method of policing to the entire valley.

You don't need a Ph.D. in law enforcement to see the disadvantages of having dozens of police departments patrolling the streets independently in the same county. The sheriff can offer plenty of anecdotes to show why this is inefficient. I have a few of my own.

Perhaps the most vivid one happened eight years ago when an extremely intoxicated woman decided the best way for her to get home was to hop into an idling firetruck and speed away.

She sped through one city after another while police departments tried to decide what to do. Salt Lake police abandoned the chase because of a city policy requiring them to let a person go if a chase would cause a greater danger to the public. But other cities picked it up again when the woman came their way. In the end, the woman led them to Layton and back before the Utah Highway Patrol punctured the truck's tires. In all, 18 police cars from five police agencies were involved, all with lights flashing and sirens screaming.

And all answering to their own chiefs and administrators.