The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Officer’s wrongdoing in narcotics strike force calls for more investigation

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Police misconduct has become an increasingly common theme in this country over the past few years. Disillusionment with our domestic protectors has spread like wildfire in light of highly publicized abuses of police power. Condemnation of the war on drugs, which was once considered unpatriotic heresy, has become commonplace. Police reform is at the forefront of many Americans’ minds. In light of some exceptionally disturbing conduct involving the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force (WMNSF), I am more convinced than ever that the war on drugs needs to be abandoned and its legions disbanded.

[ PROTESTS NEED LESS TALK AND MORE ACTION ]

Don Johnson, a WMNSF officer, was seen driving away as smoke came from his Riverdale home on Jan. 23, 2014. Shortly thereafter, when the home was completely engulfed in smoke, neighbors called 9-1-1. Investigators were surprised by the unlikely origin of the fire — a pile of clothes had been stacked against an inexplicably open door of the home’s furnace. The smell of foul play wafted up from the smoky ashes of the singed home. Johnson summarily dismissed the clean-up crew when they grew suspicious.

Later that year, Johnson testified at a trial involving an alleged drug trafficking ring in Weber County. Johnson had acquired wiretaps for a handful of suspected drug dealers, and the county had constantly monitored these individuals’ phone calls and text messages. Due to the invasive nature of wiretaps, the law requires that every alternative investigative technique must be attempted before an officer can apply for a wiretap. Johnson had failed to satisfy this requirement and thus, the defense argued, the wiretaps were illegal. Johnson’s justification for procuring the dubious wiretap warrant was that he had used a confidential informant to purchase drugs from the suspects in the past. When asked to produce evidence of the previous buys in court, which Johnson alleged he had saved on his cell phone and computer, he responded that the devices had been lost in the fire. How convenient. What about the drugs that he supposedly bought — where were they? That remained a mystery — until recently.

On Jan. 15, 2015, Johnson resigned from the police force, and about a week later he was charged with two counts of drug distribution. The charges stemmed from citizen accusations claiming that Johnson had compelled them to illegally purchase prescription pills for his personal use. The accusations were supported, ironically, by phone records. Apparently, the former officer was both an addict and a small-time dealer. The most disturbing aspect of this situation is that Johnson was illegally popping and procuring pills while working with a group of professionals whose supposed job is to recognize and prevent the illegal sale and use of narcotics.

How could any sane and sober person think that they could blatantly burn down their own home in order to get off the hook for producing critical evidence in court? (Not to mention the fact that Johnson failed in this endeavor, as the fire only caused smoke damage and did not actually destroy any personal electronics in the home.) But the more important question is, what sane and sober law enforcement agency could go along with such an unequivocally scandalous scheme?

I’m not saying the entire strike force is composed of drug addicts and dealers like Johnson, but the whole situation makes you wonder if this kind of behavior is completely foreign to the force. The agency has done all that it can to quietly distance itself from Johnson. They’ve ignored the tough questions and refused to reflect on the implications this discovery has for the rest of the force. For instance, if one member has been able to get away with this kind of behavior, then who else among their ranks might be doing it? Why did it go unnoticed or unreported for all this time? Clearly, the force isn’t willing to ask these tough but necessary questions of themselves.

Following a thorough investigation into the conduct of the strike force, all agents should be drug tested regularly, and anyone who fails should be immediately removed from the force and prosecuted. Not only should the offending officers be prosecuted for their drug use, but also for any additional crimes committed as a result, such as perjury or fraud. Better yet, the entire force should just be disbanded and the fruitless war on drugs forsaken.

[email protected][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *