Was Spanish Fork Police Chief Dee Rosenbaum given special treatment?

PROVO — On a Saturday afternoon in June, Dee Rosenbaum was shopping at the Provo Towne Centre mall when Dillard's security officers saw something that caught their attention. They focused on his actions for some time before detaining him and calling police.

The store security officers believed he was shoplifting.

When a Provo police officer arrived to investigate, he soon realized the suspected shoplifter was the chief of the Spanish Fork Police Department. When the officer realized who he was, he called his sergeant, who called his lieutenant, who called his captain, who called the Provo police chief.

The officer never arrested the Spanish Fork police chief and prosecutors ultimately elected not to file charges against him. Dillard's decided to ban him for life from entering any of its stores, according to the officer's report.

Now a Utah County law enforcement officer has come forward with what he claims is evidence that the Provo Police Department may have helped clear Rosenbaum of any wrongdoing.

The officer, who asked for anonymity because he fears he could lose his job, gave KSL-TV the surveillance video of Rosenbaum inside the Dillard's store.

"What you see on the footage, for me, isn't exactly what is put in the report," he said, referring to the police report written by Provo police officer Daniel Smith, who responded to the incident that day.

"If you base the incident off the police report alone, I can see why there were no charges filed," the anonymous officer said. "Just seeing the footage definitely raises a lot of questions that need to be answered."

KSL-TV reviewed the 28-minute surveillance video.

At 12:09 p.m. on June 5, Rosenbaum can be seen walking inside the store with two shopping bags, one of which was a used Dillard's shopping bag. According to Smith's police report from that day, Rosenbaum brought the two empty bags from his vehicle inside the store.

After 12 minutes, the surveillance camera begins to hone in on Rosenbaum. It is unclear why, because Dillard's has not returned phone calls seeking comment on this story.

However, the police source claims that Rosenbaum's behavior, as shown on the video, appears suspicious.

In the video, Rosenbaum "picks up a shirt and doesn't even look at the shirt. He's looking over the shirt as if he's looking at someone else in the footage," said the officer.