OGDEN, Utah — All year, FOX 13 News has been interviewing Ogden police officers who have shown examples of being pressured to write more tickets – even after meeting department expectations.
Lawmakers say those expectations are an example of an illegal police quota.
The Utah State Legislature banned quotas in 2018 after learning some police departments were treating drivers like piggybanks for the city.
On Monday, legislators with the Administrative Rules and General Oversight Committee summoned Chief Eric Young and Mayor Mike Caldwell to the Utah State Capitol to explain.
Young stuck to his story, standing by the “point system” he uses to evaluate officers. He said he does not believe grading officers on the number of tickets they write is the same as a quota.
WATCH: Police quotas are illegal, but Ogden says it has a ‘point system’ instead
“What Ogden City is doing is accountability and safety for the public. I have a Master’s degree in business,” he said. “I don’t know what the revenue is, and I don’t care. I don’t want any of it.”
According to data from the Utah State Auditor, Ogden received more revenue per capita last fiscal year from fines and forfeitures than any other large city in Utah.
At first, Young stated he only requires two tickets a week for patrol officers to meet traffic expectations.
But according to an email written by Lt. Cameron Stiver, traffic cops are expected to write one citation per hour. They usually exceed that goal, he wrote.
“The standard in traffic has always been one citation per street hour, so if an officer works 75 street hours they should have a minimum of 75 citations... The standard for traffic has always been, one citation per street hour, minimum.”
Another email from Stiver outlined how an officer would need to write one ticker per hour to meet the goal of paying for their own “wages, benefits, equipment, and vehicle.”
“If an officer writes 2,080 citation per year, and each citation is $130, that equates to $270,400. Of that total, Ogden city would see approximately $180,266.66 or 2/3 of the total.”
Young stated the goal of the “point system” has nothing to do with revenue. He said it’s to stop lazy officers from slacking off.
“We want to be able to do our jobs,” said one Ogden officer. “My job is not a tax collector.”
“It’s still a point system. It’s still technically a quota,” said Ogden driver CJ Palfreyman. “The point system is incentive to get them to do something that is against the law.”
Rep. Kera Birkeland (R-Morgan) agreed.
She indicated the department’s responses made her more convinced than ever that Ogden police is breaking the law.
“As long as quotas are illegal, Ogden City shouldn’t be doing them,” she said. “Point blank. That’s the law.”
Sen. Curt Bramble (R-Provo) asked why the vast majority law enforcement agencies are able to evaluate officers without quotas or point systems.
In response, Young said he does not believe other police agencies are being truthful about having similar policies.
WATCH: 110+ Utah police agencies say they don’t use quotas or point-based evaluations
Sen. Gregg Buxton (R-Ogden) said he does not trust the anonymous officers who have spoken with FOX 13 News to provide copies of their officer evaluations.
“I believe the media twists things,” he said. “When a person doesn’t have to stand up and show his face, I don’t believe there’s credibility.”
So far, he is the only lawmaker to publicly stick up for Ogden’s “point system.” He is a former Ogden employee and has listed the city as a potential conflict of interest on state-required annual disclosures.
Although the committee chose not to take any official action on Monday, several lawmakers said Ogden should expect to make changes on their own by the end of the year or risk the Utah State Legislature forcing their hand.
“My eyes were opened. The law needs to change,” Birkeland said. “Myself and some of my colleagues, we are going to pursue this... Do we have the law written in a way that allows them to continue to do what they’re doing, or do we need to revise that?”