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BRIGHAM CITY, Utah (AP) -- A Box Elder County sheriff's narcotics officer fired in 2003 for having a sexual relationship with a parolee has been rehired as a jailer.
"He was a good person, and I think most people will tell you that," Sheriff Leon Jensen said of Jim Salvesen. "I believe in giving someone a second chance. And yes, there are some I wouldn't give a second chance."
When Salvesen was with the Box Elder Narcotics Strike Force, he supervised parolee Teresa L. Brown while she made undercover buys.
In February 2003, he was fired after admitting to a sexual relationship with Brown.
An investigation was conducted by the Weber County sheriff's office to avoid any conflict of interest.
The investigators said Brown had talked of the relationship as a stunt to see if she could "get a cop." They also said Salvesen was vulnerable at the time, on medication for depression after a divorce.
Salvesen was rehired on May 8 after completing a three-year suspension ordered by the state Police Officers Standards and Training division.
"He's completed the discipline required by POST and met all the qualifications to be a correctional officer," Chief Deputy Sheriff Lynn Yeates said. "He's met all the requirements of anybody else who comes through the door."
Jensen said Salvesen started his career as a correctional officer at the jail. Jensen said he promoted him to patrol duty and eventually assigned him to the strike force.
"I would trust him completely," the sheriff said. "He was always one of my best employees."
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Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
