MANTUA, Utah — Mantua’s new police chief is stepping into a department with a history of problems.
Chief Craig Hamer’s task will be to rebuild the agency after the former chief was fired, nearly all of the town’s officers resigned, and Mantua leaders openly discussed using ticket revenue as a fix to the town’s strained budget.
Hamer’s hiring happened fast — it was less than a month from the time the former chief was dismissed to the time Hamer was sworn in.
The city claims he was vetted properly, but 2News confirmed that Mantua officials did not request Hamer’s personnel file from his previous agency, West Jordan Police.
If they had, they would have received 18 pages of disciplinary reports that document years of issues with Officer Hamer.
In March 2019, Hamer was formally disciplined in a letter from West Jordan Police Chief Ken Wallentine after the department found he had engaged in “unethical and unauthorized” time card reports. The agency sustained an allegation that Hamer entered “repeated substantial inconsistent time entries for time actually worked,” according to the discipline letter. The letter also says Hamer failed to comply with uniform and dress standards on duty.
In April 2019, Hamer again received a discipline letter for making an arrest without probable cause. West Jordan Police administrators said Hamer restrained a woman during a traffic stop without lawful cause. The discipline letter also noted that Hamer had violated city policy by allowing an unauthorized person to ride in his police vehicle and then lying to a supervisor about having the ride-along approved.
Hamer was instructed to study the Fourth Amendment and then asked to meet with a supervisor to demonstrate his understanding. Hamer was also warned that if repeat violations occurred, he could be terminated.
In November 2020, Chief Wallentine terminated Hamer in a scathing letter that alleged Hamer had violated 15 department policies.
In the termination letter, Wallentine said Hamer botched a stolen vehicle call that involved a family’s U-Haul trailer containing the body of a deceased family member who was to be buried the next day.
I find that your assessment of this call for service as just another ‘routine stolen vehicle’ containing ‘stolen property,’ specifically the body of the complainant’s deceased wife, and your reliance on your assertion that ‘we never call out detectives for a routine stolen vehicle,’ shows an unacceptable lack of judgment and lack of compassion for the complainant. Your failure to affirmatively notify the officer in charge in a timely manner, your failure to promptly gather the available video recording, and your failure to request assistance from detectives, all reflect poor judgement,” Wallentine wrote.
The termination letter also alleged Hamer “gave false or misleading statements to a supervisor in connection with an investigation” when he lied about who he was speaking to at a call for service.
“I find that these violations are of a serious nature and show a pattern of ongoing and uncorrected when viewed in light of your two prior written warnings. This behavior is unacceptable and inconsistent with the character and level of performance expected of City employees,” Wallentine wrote.
Hamer filed a grievance with the city, which was granted in part, but before Wallentine could determine if Hamer would keep his job, Hamer voluntarily resigned on Jan. 15.
Former Mantua Police Chief Jim Jones conducted Hamer’s background check before his hiring. Jones refused to do a recorded interview with 2News, but spoke on background about what he did to vet Hamer.
Jones said he called West Jordan Police for a reference and was told that Hamer’s personnel file was “protected.” Jones later changed his story and said that West Jordan Police told him he needed to drive to their offices to obtain a copy of the report, which he said he did not do.
Jones said he didn’t need access to Hamer’s personnel file from West Jordan Police because he “already knew what was in it” from other sources, including attorneys, though he did not elaborate on what that meant. 2News has requested a copy of the background check Jones completed.
West Jordan officials told 2News they did not receive a request from Mantua Police for Hamer’s records.
Hamer told 2News he did not have a comment on his prior disciplinary record and hoped to “put it behind him.”
