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SOUTH SALT LAKE — The mayor of South Salt Lake clarified Friday that a lieutenant in the city's police department "would have been terminated if he had not resigned" after he was convicted of DUI earlier this year.
South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood took to social media Friday, writing that questions had arisen about how the city handled a case regarding former South Salt Lake Police Lt. Jim Anderson.
Anderson, 46, of Saratoga Springs, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, a class B misdemeanor, and negligent collision, an infraction, in Saratoga Springs on Sept. 21 in relation to a single-vehicle crash that happened in the city on Aug. 25. Charging documents stated that evidence showed he had a blood-alcohol content level of at least 0.05% at the time of the crash.
He pleaded guilty to the DUI charge last month and the infraction was dropped, according to court records. He served a five-day sentence in Utah County Jail that ended on Dec. 5 and was ordered to serve probation among other things.
Wood wrote that Anderson was "quickly placed on administrative leave with pay" after the crash and before toxicology reports were made available. He resigned before the city could complete an internal affairs report about the incident, the mayor added.
"Let me be clear: Lt. Anderson would have been terminated if he had not resigned," Wood wrote. "Anderson (pleaded) guilty to DUI charges, served time in jail, lost his job and suffered other losses for an action that could have resulted in innocent people being injured or worse. South Salt Lake will not tolerate any employee driving under the influence of alcohol or engaging in any other illegal activity. Our employees know that and our record demonstrates that."
