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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera announced she will reluctantly support a bill to dissolve the Unified Police Department during an emotional news conference on Tuesday.
If passed, HB374 would repeal the section of code that created the Unified Police Department, and would force the cities that use its services to form their own law enforcement agencies or contract with the sheriff's office for services.
As part of her duties as sheriff, Rivera also serves as the CEO of the Unified Police Department. She told reporters that while she feels "backed into a corner by political forces" who have grown increasingly vocal in their opposition to the department, she feels HB374 is the best path forward for public safety.
Rivera spoke reluctantly in favor of a substitute version of the bill that was recently made public, which would extend the dissolution date from Dec. 31, 2023, in the original bill to July 1, 2025, saying it's the only way to resolve "misinformed attacks" on the department. It would be "impossible" to make all of the necessary changes to ensure public safety by the end of this year, she said.
Since she doesn't see opposition to the Unified Police Department going away anytime soon, the extension would allow communities more time to implement law enforcement strategies going forward.
"I chose not to oppose this bill because I have a responsibility to create long-term stability for public safety and that's what I'm doing here today," Rivera said.
Rivera said it was a "sad day," and although she didn't want to support the bill, "sometimes your hand is forced."
Bill sponsor Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, said for cities that have a stand-alone police agency, like South Jordan, having the sheriff oversee the Unified Police Department is a conflict of interest. He also believes residents of non-Unified police cities are being taxed twice: once for the municipal police force and once for the Unified Police Department — which is funded out of county taxes.
"(Rivera) has different goals and objectives than what the entire county is looking for," he told KSL NewsRadio.
As sheriff, Rivera oversees the officers of the Unified Police Department and proposes an annual budget, but a separate chief of police oversees the day-to-day operations of the force. The department was created in 2010, and currently serves the cities of Holladay, Midvale and Millcreek, metro townships like Copperton, Kearns, Magna, White City and Emigration Canyon, in addition to Parleys Canyon and Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.
Even with the potential end of the Unified Police Department looming, Rivera assured residents of those cities that the bill doesn't mean they'll have to "fend for themselves." The bill doesn't limit future interlocal law enforcement agreements; it just ends the Unified Police Department as it is currently constructed.
"I believe that the townships and the cities that are part of UPD can come together and still create a law enforcement agency that works best for them," Rivera said. "We are not bailing out on anybody. We are saying we have two years to work together, versus the initial bill that gave us eight months."
Rivera, a Democrat, was joined at the news conference by Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith, a Republican, who is also the president of the Utah Sheriffs' Association. He commended Rivera for making the best decision in light of her current political predicament.
"At some point, it's a no-win and you have to be the leader and you have to make that leadership decision," he said. "That's our decision. You have to have the vision to see the writing on the wall and to see the political powers that be and what's up against you and make that hard decision. ... It is a tough thing."
He also said the decision will "disempower voters from having a direct say in law enforcement," adding that the ability for voters to elect sheriffs is "paramount to us." HB374 wouldn't change how sheriffs are elected, but a separate resolution, HJR10, sponsored by House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, would ask voters to enshrine the office of county sheriff in the Utah Constitution.
The House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee will debate HB374 on Wednesday at 8 a.m.
Contributing: Lindsay Aerts
