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The former police chief and only officer for a remote Utah town filed a lawsuit alleging he was fired months ago because he gave the mayor’s son a traffic ticket on Super Bowl Sunday.
Robert Hill, the former police chief of the city of Moroni, located 60 miles south of Provo with a population of about 1,400 people, alleged that he received word from Mayor Paul Bailey and other city officials in January that they were pleased with his performance and could be eligible for a raise or a second officer to join what was a one-man police department.
But, according to the litigation, that all changed when Hill pulled over Bailey’s son in February.
The former chief said he was out patrolling the day the Los Angeles Rams were playing the Cincinnati Bengals looking for potential DUIs and ensuring parties didn’t get out of hand when he witnessed a pick-up truck rev its engine on the town’s main road and blow exhaust before leaving town, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
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City of Moroni, Utah
(City of Moroni)
The driver later returned, and Hill pulled him over for making fast turns and driving erratically, suspecting that he might be impaired.
The driver turned out to be Bailey’s son, to whom the chief issued a citation for an alleged seatbelt violation and two turn signal infractions. Bailey’s son later pleaded guilty to the turn signal infraction and the other charges were dismissed, according to the Tribune.
“I didn’t know who it was,” Hill told the newspaper, “but he made it very clear who he was, and made it clear that he better not be getting a ticket.”
The lawsuit says Hill pulled over another driver later that night with a “severely smashed windshield.” He arrested the woman for outstanding misdemeanor warrants.
The next day, the mayor called Hill into his office and placed him on administrative leave. Bailey fired the police chief later that month on Feb. 18.
Moroni Mayor Paul Bailey is sworn into office on January 4, 2018.
(City of Moroni)
The lawsuit alleges Hill’s firing was payback for pulling over the mayor’s son, but Bailey previously told FOX 13 that the termination came as a result of allegations from two women accusing the chief of using unnecessary force.
This 2018 Moroni City Council photo shows from left to right Mayor Paul Bailey, Jenifer Lamb, Fred Atkinson, Orson Cook, Jed Demill, and Justin Morley.
(City of Moroni )
Hill’s attorney, Erik Strindberg, said neither complaint has been substantiated.
“The mayor was pissed because his son got a ticket,” Strindberg told the Tribune.
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Since his firing, the city of Moroni considered hiring a new chief to patrol the community, but after receiving just three applicants, opted to contract with Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office for one deputy to patrol the city part-time for just five hours a day for $125,000 a year.
Fox News Digital reached out to both Bailey and Hill’s attorney for added comment.
