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EPHRAIM — Ephraim Police Chief Ron Rasmussen has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations against him and the city's police department.
City Manager Brant Hanson confirmed Friday that Rasmussen, believed to currently be Utah's longest-serving police chief, was placed on leave a week ago. While it's standard procedure in such cases and not indicative of any wrongdoing, Hanson confirmed that allegations against the chief have been levied.
"They are just allegations at this time," he said. "We really want the investigation to take place for us to understand truly what's going on with the police department. As an organization, we've had some challenges in the past with culture and morale, and things like that. And this could be one of the items that has led to this concern, or how do we fix it.
"So as an organization, as a city, we're looking forward to the opportunity to learn what are some of the deficiencies in the police department so we can identify those and improve the police department."
Hanson declined to go into detail about the allegations or who brought them to the city's attention, saying only that the Utah County Sheriff's Office has been asked to look into potential criminal misconduct, as well as how the police department administration has been operating in general.
The Utah County Sheriff's Office was asked to conduct the investigation rather than the closer Sanpete County Sheriff's Office to make sure there are no conflicts of interest, Hanson said.
"We really do have a great police department," he said, while noting there are challenges that need to be addressed, some likely the result of growing pains.
The department currently has five officers, including the chief. Hanson said the city would like to have one officer per 1,000 residents. With Ephraim now closing in on 7,000 residents, an additional officer has been included in next year's budget, he said.
However, when Snow College is in session, there are much more than 7,000 people in Ephraim, Hanson noted.
The Sanpete County Sheriff's Office has agreed to assist Ephraim police while the department is shorthanded.
Ephraim city officials are hoping the investigation will be wrapped up in another week.
