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- Two volunteers were hospitalized during a North Ogden police DUI training, according to city manager Jon Call.
- The event lacked a certified instructor, a standard for trainings of this type, Call says.
- The city declined to release the original Department of Public Safety investigation.
NORTH OGDEN — Two participants of a DUI training for police in February were taken to the emergency room, while others became "severely impaired," to the point they were not able to participate in the training, according to records obtained by KSL.com.
North Ogden administration has been tight-lipped about the "wet lab" training — which involves volunteers consuming alcohol to reach a certain blood alcohol level so police can practice field sobriety tests and other DUI investigative techniques — with city manager Jon Call declining to answer questions sent by KSL.com, including the date it happened.
Previously released records show no certified instructor was overseeing the event, which is "the standard for this type of training," according to Call.
After KSL.com made a public records request, the city released a partially redacted memo written by Call in March (though it is unclear who it was sent to), an email to potential participants, a text message from Police Chief Brian Enyon, and waivers of liability signed by nine volunteers, with all names redacted except Eynon.
The city declined to release any portion of the Department of Public Safety investigation into the training incident.
The chief was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 12 while the Utah Department of Public Safety's internal investigation team looked into the training on behalf of the city, according to a previous press release from North Ogden, and he was reinstated over a month later on March 17.
The email to potential participants shows the "wet lab" was a mandatory training, which happened Feb. 6. in a courtroom in the building housing both the North Ogden Police Department and court.
The email was sent on Jan. 7 to seven North Ogden officers, four sergeants, a detective, and two lieutenants. Four other officers with North Ogden emails also received the notice, though KSL.com could not confirm they worked for North Ogden. Three were most recently employed by Pleasant View and one by Harrisville, according to Transparent Utah records.
It is unclear how many were actually present, but 20 city employees received the invitation; nine signed waivers to volunteer to drink; and Call wrote in his memo that the DPS investigation involved interviews of 21 department personnel, and "the volunteers for this training were made up of city employees, including some police officers and others from the community."
According to Call, city administration only learned about the training after the fact, the memo says.
The text message sent by Enyon showed he had organized a ride to the station for himself and his wife to participate in the training.
Waivers show participants listing drinks of choice from "anything sweet," to beer, to whiskey of various price points, and agreeing to "refrain from operating a motor vehicle as defined by Utah law for a period of 12 hours after consuming alcohol as part of the training program."
The documents show the police department "provides alcohol to participants who agree to consume it as part of a training program," but the city administration has repeatedly denied spending any municipal funds on alcohol, so it is still unclear where the alcohol came from, how much was purchased, and for what cost.
The training is widely used by public safety departments, Call wrote, adding, "The standard for this type of training is to utilize a (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) approved (Standardized Field Sobriety Test) instructor."
In the case of the February training, a sergeant established training parameters that were then cleared by the police administration, the memo says.
"During the training, some of the volunteer participants were unable to participate in the training because of the effects of alcohol consumption. Medical personnel were called to assess the individuals who became severely impaired and two voluntarily were transported to the Pleasant View Emergency Center," the document states.
The memo contained a summary of the DPS report written by Call, with all "unsustained" allegations redacted. They would not release the actual report.
According to Call, the report found the police chief's decision to participate as a volunteer was "conduct unbecoming an officer," and the training was conducted without a certified instructor.
Corrective measures were recommended by DPS, according to Call, "including potential disciplinary actions." A previous press release says Enyon was disciplined, but no disciplinary records were included in documents released to KSL.com.
KSL.com has appealed that denial to Mayor Neal Berube and seeks to obtain the original Department of Public Safety report, disciplinary actions, and letters referenced in the documents obtained by KSL.com that should be provided under the original GRAMA request.
