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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Highway Patrol has placed the lieutenant who leads its DUI squad on paid administrative leave while another police agency independently investigates a complaint against the man.
Sgt. Todd Royce said Tuesday UHP received a complaint from a private citizen about Lt. Brad Horne a few weeks ago leading to Horne being placed on leave.
Royce offered few details about the nature of the complaint, but he said it did not have to do with a DUI arrest or DUI procedure.
“We’re wanting to be transparent and open,” Royce said. “Whenever we receive a complaint from a citizen, we do take it very seriously. We investigate that; we look to see if there’s any wrongdoing that we need to look farther into.”
Royce said UHP asked the Ogden Police Department to conduct an independent investigation. A spokesperson for Ogden police referred questions back to the UHP.
“We did receive some allegations on Lt. Brad Horne, and what we’ve done with them is we’ve turned them over to Ogden Police Department to get an unbiased look and make sure there’s no conflict of interest in this,” Royce said.
Attorney Greg Skordas, who represents Horne, said Tuesday night that his client has cooperated fully with the investigation and has made himself available to answer any questions.
I want to point out the fact that these are just allegations. People are put on administrative leave just during the investigation, and that's what we're talking about. Lt. Brad Horne was just put on administrative leave while we look at and while this is being looked at by Ogden Police Department.
–Sgt. Todd Royce
Skordas also declined to elaborate on the nature of the allegations facing Horne, but said he believed his client would be cleared when the investigation is complete.
Royce said the complaint is separate from and came up after an internal audit in January that led to a reorganization of the DUI squad.
“That brought to light some things that we need to do better in the DUI squad,” Royce said.
Royce would not elaborate on the changes to the squad or what exactly prompted them.
Audits are conducted monthly at UHP and can focus on issues ranging from employee time sheets to how DUI stops are conducted.
Royce did not know when Ogden police would conclude its investigation or what the findings might be.
“I want to point out the fact that these are just allegations. People are put on administrative leave just during the investigation, and that’s what we’re talking about,” Royce said. “Lt. Brad Horne was just put on administrative leave while we look at and while this is being looked at by Ogden Police Department.”
Royce acknowledged officers are rarely placed on paid administrative leave, and that it happens most commonly in cases of officer-involved shootings.
“Because he is the commander over the DUI squad, we just wanted to come out with that and make sure that it was clear that the audit was done, there’s been some reorganization done with the DUI squad,” Royce said. “Separate from that, with this complaint, this allegation that came in from a private citizen is why Lt. Horne has been placed on administrative leave.”
