(Jeffrey D Allred, Deseret News)
PROVO – More details are coming out about serious claims of an officer’s misconduct within the BYU Police Department. The department is being decertified for reportedly not doing an internal investigation.
KSL has received an investigative report from Peace Officer Standards and Training, which was looking into alleged misconduct from former officer Aaron Rhoades. The report states Rhoades had been unlawfully accessing protected information from agencies like the Provo and Orem police departments and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators says it happened between August 2014 and June 2016, although the report doesn’t specify how many times Rhoades accessed that information.
The report also says Rhoades shared this information to the BYU Dean of Students Office, the Title IX Office and the Honor Code Office. This is a Class B misdemeanor.
In May of 2016, the State Bureau of Investigations started looking into this alleged misconduct. That investigation into the unlawful access of a countywide database was completed in 2018, and it was handed over to POST.
Earlier this month, BYU President Kevin Worthen received a letter from DPS, saying the BYU Police Department was being de-certified for reportedly not conducting an internal investigation into accusations of misconduct between 2016 and 2018. Plus, DPS officials claim the university didn’t comply with a subpoena from POST in 2018.
However, BYU is appealing this decision, and school officials say they’ve complied with every request applicable.
Rhoades gave up his peace officer certification last November. The case was screened at the Utah County Attorney’s Office, but no charges were filed.