Daggett board to take over as sheriff amid jail controversy

Daggett board to take over as sheriff amid jail controversy

(KSL TV, File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Daggett County commissioners will fill in as sheriff, they announced two days after the resignation of the former official elected to the post.

It's the latest development after a state report alleged misconduct at the county's jail in the sparsely populated corner of northeastern Utah.

The commission Tuesday unanimously voted to allow itself to act as sheriff, with Commissioner Jack Lytle as chief. That's until the county GOP appoints an interim sheriff, said Susie Potter, sheriff's department spokeswoman.

The move takes effect immediately, the three-member board announced in a prepared statement.

"The goal is to create stability within the Sheriff’s department and the jail and to clarify the reporting structure during the hopefully short time we wait for the nomination," reads the approved proposal provided by the county.

The board said it values and has confidence in the county's law enforcement and corrections employees.

"We’d like to maintain everything that is positive within the department while looking toward the future and strengthening our relationship with the Department of Corrections," the statement reads.

Jerry Jorgensen resigned as sheriff Sunday after six years in the post.

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The Daggett County Attorney's Office has said it would be a mistake for the public to assume he did something wrong, and said Jorgensen in January asked the Utah Department of Corrections to investigate "possible mistreatment of inmates."

The departure was voluntary, the sheriff's office said.

Other county officials, including the jail commander and two corrections officers, have left or been removed from their job since Corrections pulled all its state inmates out of the facility in February.

The allegations of misconduct among jail employees is "distressing," Utah Department of Corrections Executive Director Rollin Cook said Friday. No details have been given on the reported misconduct.

The Utah Attorney General's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have received copies of the state investigation.

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Annie Knox

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