Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The former Salt Lake City police officer who was put on paid leave for wanting a different assignment during the 2014 gay pride parade now has a new job.
Eric Moutsos is now the manager of development for the Sutherland Institute.
“People that don’t have the time to go to Capitol Hill can put their resources into Sutherland, so we can go do that,” Moutsos said.
They connected after Moutsos began speaking out about how he was treated after requesting to work a different assignment during the gay pride parade because of his religious beliefs. He says he got into law enforcement — and served for seven years — because he wanted to make a difference.
“The more I interacted with them, the more I realized that Sutherland Institute was an organization with the resources and capacity to magnify the difference I can make as an individual — similar to law enforcement but in a different way.”
Last June he was called a bigot and placed on paid leave before eventually resigning. Then in March, Moutsos testified on Utah’s Capitol Hill about religious freedom and nondiscrimination.
Now he says he will work to help Sutherland with not just those issues, but many more.
“The family, religion, charity, private property, free markets, personal responsibility and limited government,” Moutsos said.
His bio on sutherlandinstitute.org also says he will help with the World Congress of Families coming to Salt Lake City this fall.
“It’s where political and religious leaders from around the world come to put aside their theological differences and move beyond the divisiveness surrounding the family and religious liberty, and just focus on finding inclusive solutions to the issues,” said Moutsos.
