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MORONI, Sanpete County — Six months after being fired as Moroni's police chief, Robert Hill has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city and Mayor Paul Bailey.
The legal action filed in August is the latest in the ongoing controversy involving the city and questions over who should provide police service to its residents.
Hill was hired in August 2020 to be Moroni's fourth police chief in four years, making him the city's lone law enforcer. He spent 26 years in the military and is a licensed firefighter and paramedic.
Bailey's law enforcement career includes more than 20 years with the Utah Highway Patrol and Sanpete County Sheriff's Office before his retirement this year.
On Feb. 13, Super Bowl Sunday, Hill pulled over a truck "being driven in an erratic manner," according to his lawsuit. Unbeknownst to him, he had pulled over Bailey's son.
After being stopped, the mayor's son "challenged Mr. Hill's ability to stop and ticket him and stated, 'See what happens when you need backup,'" according to the lawsuit.
"He just had a few things basically that were very inappropriate and basically talked himself into a ticket," Hill told KSL-TV in March, noting that he was originally just going to give the man a warning.
The 25-year-old man was issued a ticket. Ultimately, he paid a $50 fine for a traffic infraction, according to court records.
Later that night, Hill pulled over a woman with a "severely smashed windshield."
"After conducting a routine check, Mr. Hill learned that the driver had outstanding warrants for misdemeanors and could not produce either a driver's license or evidence of insurance," according to the lawsuit.
The woman was told that she was going to be arrested and her vehicle impounded.
The woman "became quite upset" that she was about to be taken to jail and started yelling and tried to get back in her vehicle, Hill wrote in his report for the incident. At one point, Hill said he had to pin her body against her vehicle to stop her from getting back in, and then put her on the ground so she wouldn't run into traffic. Bailey, the mayor who was still a certified police officer at the time, showed up at the scene as backup.
The next day, Hill was called into Bailey's office and placed on administrative leave, stating he had received two use-of-force complaints against him. Four days later, he was fired "'for cause, but refused to explain what the cause was for the termination,'" the lawsuit alleges.
"Mayor Bailey said it was because of complaints he had received, even though he had never spoken of previous complaints, only telling Bob to keep doing what he was doing, and that he was trying to get Bob a raise. He also said the city had decided to go a different way and contract with the county," according to a public letter issued by Hill's wife shortly after her husband was fired.
Likewise, Hill's lawsuit notes, "The mayor did tell Mr. Hill that the city wanted to 'go another way' with the department, potentially partnering with the (Sanpete County Sheriff's Office) to provide law enforcement services. However, the City Council subsequently rejected this idea. Moroni City posted the open position for chief of police in March of 2022. That position remains vacant, despite substantial increases in offers of compensation. Mr. Hill had not received any warnings or disciplinary actions prior to this incident."
In his lawsuit, Hill contends that he was wrongly terminated as outlined in the Utah Protection of Public Employees Act, also known as the Whistleblowers Act.
"Mayor Paul Bailey fired Mr. Hill in retaliation for ticketing his son and enforcing the law by arresting the driver who had several outstanding warrants and was driving without a valid license," according to the lawsuit. "The mayor had apparently and effectively issued a directive that his son was to be given special treatment and not be ticketed even if he was violating the law. Mr. Hill refused to follow this directive to give preferential treatment to the mayor's son and instead treated the mayor's son the same as he treated all other motorists who had violated the law."
Hill also claims his termination was wrong because "the limited reasons offered by the mayor and city are pretext unsupported by factual evidence of an investigation or seriousness rising to the level warranting dismissal."
Hill is seeking reimbursement for back pay and lost benefits since he was fired as well as being reinstated as police chief "or in lieu of that front pay," plus a jury to determine additional relief.
