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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS -- Officer Beau Babka is expected to be placed on unpaid administrative leave after being charged with two felonies and is expected to resign from the department sometime this week.
Babka was charged in 3rd District Court Monday with two counts of misuse of public money, a third-degree felony. His initial court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 25.
To some, the charges against one of the state's highest-profile police officers come as a shock. Others, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Deseret News they are further puzzled by the way Babka was treated once the charges were filed.
Some question treatment of Babka's case
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Two officers from the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office arrived at Babka's Draper house to place him under arrest shortly after the charges were filed. They then took him to the Salt Lake County Jail, where Babka was once the undersheriff, to be booked and released.
"It was handled differently than I expected," said Babka's attorney, Greg Skordas.
Typically, it is unusual for an officer to be booked into a jail in the same county in which they serve. Skordas said he tried calling the district attorney's office to arrange something for Babka, whether it be to serve him with a summons or have him booked into the Davis County Jail. But he said his calls were not returned.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Tuesday he had not heard of any of those proposals. The reason he had Babka processed at the Salt Lake County Jail was for convenience to Babka, he said.
"If I was going to keep Mr. Babka in jail, then I would go ahead and book him in the Davis County Jail. I had a discussion with the sheriff. I felt it was a simple book and release," Gill said.
DA explains actions in Babka case
Some outside observers have questioned whether there is any political motivation behind the charges.
Gill said it is the evidence that drives the prosecution. This was not a case that his office requested.
"We're very comfortable on the decision that we made based on the evidence that was presented to us," Gill said. "Sometimes people make mistakes and are held accountable for it."
We're very comfortable on the decision that we made based on the evidence that was presented to us. Sometimes people make mistakes and are held accountable for it.
–Sim Gill, SLCO DA
In court documents, Babka allegedly told his department when confronted that he was "financially destitute" and his campaign that he ran last year for Salt Lake County sheriff, which he lost, left him in "chaos."
Skordas said not only was Babka spending money out of his own pocket on the campaign, but he wasn't making any money because he had to take so much time off of work.
From his own personal experience, Skordas, who lost to Gill during party elections in April for the chance to run against former District Attorney Lohra Miller, said the last weeks of a campaign become a full-time job.
Babka has been a police officer for 19 years. He would have been eligible for his pension next year.
Skordas said Babka was unaware that law enforcers would be coming to his house to take him into custody Monday. Gill said Tuesday he did not know whether or not Babka knew officials were coming. But the decision to arrest Babka rather than have him appear on a summons was based on the evidence collected and information acquired about Babka.
"We were dealing with a situation where we wanted to make sure that all parties were safe in the interaction. We wanted to make sure a situation that was already emotional did not get more volatile," Gill said.
Without getting into detail, Gill said his staff had received information that made them take steps to make sure Babka's booking was "as uneventful as possible."
"What I have a responsibility to do is address the situation presented to us in the most careful manner we can. Every decision we made here I'm perfectly comfortable with," he said. "Whenever you have a potentially volatile situation, sometimes you want to be careful."
History of public officials booked at SLCO Jail
Babka is not the first high-profile public official to be booked and released from the Salt Lake County Jail. In 2004, Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman was booked into jail for investigation of misuse of public money. Skordas was also her attorney.
Unlike Babka's sorrowful looking mug shot, however, Workman arrived with neatly coiffed hair, dressed in Sunday best and an American flag pin adorning her lapel, her pleasant smile belied the fact she faced charges of financial wrongdoing. She was later acquitted of all charges.
Also in 2004, Salt Lake County Auditor Craig Sorensen was charged with misuse of public funds for stealing $8,600 on the county gas card in a four month period. He resigned, pleaded guilty and his sentence included 10 days of jail time.
On the same day Babka was charged, a worker with the Salt Lake County Division of Environment Health Utah Department of Health was charged with one count of the same crime as Babka -- misuse of public money -- for allegedly embezzling about $2,400 in petty cash from the department.
In charging documents, Babka is accused of making two fuel purchases totaling $45.17. The gas was bought using Cottonwood Heights money but put into personal vehicles belonging to Babka or his family, according to the charges.
Sources and Cottonwood Heights records, however, suggest the actual amount of gas used by Babka for personal use may have been in the hundreds of dollars.
But Gill said the dollar amount was not the important part of the case, it was the principle of what happened. Public officials are held to a higher standard of trust, and are expected to safeguard the dollars entrusted to them.
"The issue here is not the amount that is in controversy. The issue here is under this type of a statutory scheme, what kind of money it is and who it is that is using it or abusing it," Gill said.
Babka receives support and condemnation
"We're terribly saddened by the whole turn of events. We're sympathetic to the impact this is having on his (Babka's) family and him and his career," Cullimore said. "We wish it'd never happened. There's some pretty harsh consequences for actions that for someone else would probably be a petty theft and be done but because of his position there have been some more severe consequences."
The mayor said Babka's history goes way beyond Cottonwood Heights. Babka also was a congressional candidate in 2004.
"He served faithfully in South Salt Lake, he served faithfully in the sheriff's office and in the years he served with Cottonwood Heights we were pleased with his service. He represented the city very well," he said. "As a personal friend of mine, it was one of the hardest decisions we had to make. The easier thing would be to make the decision to look the other way and pretend it never happened."
Cullimore said his office has received numerous calls from citizens on both sides of the spectrum, including those who say Babka is a criminal and those who can't believe he was being prosecuted over such a small amount.
"For those who think he ought to be punished for his crimes, I guarantee they will be satisfied because regardless of the outcome of the district attorney office's findings, the impact on him and his family has been significant," Cullimore said.
If it were another officer in another city, the case might not have received much attention, he said. But because the person involved in this case is Babka, Cullimore said it has become a high-profile news story.
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Story compiled with contributions from Pat Reavy, John Daley and the ksl.com news team.
