Salt Lake County: Winder Loses County Its SWAT Vehicle After Using it on the Campaign

A BearCat similar to the one loaned to Salt Lake County by Michael Drury.

An accusation that Jim Winder, Salt Lake County Sheriff,  violated the Hatch Act by using government resources at campaign fundraising events  has left Salt Lake County without its privately owned SWAT vehicle.

Whether Winder will end up under investigation remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Salt Lake County’s SWAT may be hitching rides with squad cars for a while.

First reported by the City Weekly, Winder used the county’s $350,000 BearCat and SWAT team members at campaign event at Tooele’s Big Shot Ranch in October of 2013. After receiving a text message over a line that was typically used for executing a search warrant or a hostage situation, SWAT team members were asked to participate in the fundraiser for Winder’s reelection.

The operators were to take a $350,000 armored vehicle to Tooele’s Big Shot Ranch—a high-end shooting range with clay-pigeon shooting and a wide array of high-caliber weaponry—owned by businessman Michael Drury, who’d donated the BearCat to the Unified Police Department (UPD). The message made no reference to what the operators would be needed for—to be part of a fundraiser for Sheriff Jim Winder’s re-election campaign—but one SWAT officer, who requested anonymity out of concern of retaliation, told City Weekly that such summons were usually to corporate or charity events paid as overtime by UPD.

The use of county resources–the BearCat and Unified Police Department employees to operate it–at a campaign fundraising event may be a violation of federal law, and a complaint is being considered by the Salt Lake County Republican Party.

On the federal Office of Special Counsel website, guidance on the Hatch Act says that use of government resources for campaign events is off-limits.

• The Hatch Act restricts state, D.C., or local employees from engaging in political misconduct. The Hatch Act Modernization Act did not change the federal Hatch Act’s prohibitions on coercive conduct or misuse of official authority for partisan purposes. A state, D.C., or local employee is still covered by these prohibitions if the employee works in connection with a program financed in whole or in part by federal loans or grants, even if the connection is relatively minor. A covered employee who runs for office would violate the Hatch Act if the employee:
  • uses federal or any other public funds to support his own candidacy;
  • uses his state, D.C., or local office to support his candidacy, including by using official email, stationery, office supplies, or other equipment or resources; or
  • asks subordinates to volunteer for his campaign or contribute to the campaign.

In response to the allegations, Winder is arguing that the vehicle is privately owned and loaned to UPD.

The result? That private owner–Michael Drury–has taken it back. In the meantime, Salt Lake County, Utah‘s most populous, will borrow neighbor county Davis’ BearCat if the need arises.