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OGDEN -- Ogden City announced Wednesday the involuntary termination of their police chief.
Police Chief Jon Greiner has been terminated by Ogden City for the violation of the Hatch Act after launching his candidacy for the state Senate in 2006. Ogden City said the termination was "unwanted and involuntary," but was required by the Federal Merit Systems Protection Board in agreement with the Hatch Act.
"Chief Greiner leaves the employ of Ogden City in good standing as a law enforcement officer, with an excellent record of success in combating crime and making the streets of Ogden City safer for all," said Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey in a prepared statement.
Earlier this month, a federal panel upheld an administrative law judge's ruling that Greiner was in violation of the Hatch Act, giving him 60 days to step down as the city's police chief.
The act prohibits government employees from participating in partisan, political races if they are employed with an entity that receives federal funding.
"We think (the Hatch Act) is a real antiquated, ridiculous law that has been inconsistently and unfairly applied to different people," Ogden Mayor-elect Mike Caldwell said.
Caldwell said the city has committed "a tremendous number of resources and time and energy" over the past five years to make sure Greiner had a fair, thorough hearing on the matter.
"He didn't, in our opinion, get a fair hearing at all," the mayor-elect said. "We don't feel due process was followed."
The federal government put a strict timeline on the issue, Caldwell said, giving Ogden until Dec. 30 to comply with the ruling.
"We didn't feel we had an opportunity to present all of our information," he said.
Greiner took over as Ogden City Police Chief in the mid- 90s after beginning his career in law enforcement with Ogden City in May 1973, serving for 38 years. He was named Utah Chief of the Year in 2005.
The city intends to fill the post internally, if possible, Caldwell said.
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Written with contributions from Josh Furlong, Paul Nelson and Jared Page.