The Independent
Many Southern Utah residents will make their way up to Salt Lake City this weekend for the Utah Pride Festival, and the Salt Lake City Police Department wants attendees to know that LGBT discrimination is an issue they take very seriously.
In fact, an officer, whose name has not been released, has been placed on administrative leave for resisting a traffic assignment during Sunday’s Pride Parade, department spokeswoman Lara Jones said.
SLCPD Chief Chris Burbank, who has marched in past Pride Parades, is a vocal supporter of LGBT rights in Utah.
“[The] chief has a very pronounced record of supporting the LGBT community,” Jones said, adding that she wants to make it clear that bias and bigotry will not be tolerated by the department.
Jones said that insubordination of any kind cannot be tolerated within the department.
“We have a chain of command, and that chain of command decides how to deploy resources,” she said. “Officers do not have the luxury of picking and choosing which parts of the community they do and do not support in relation to assignments.”
The department will host a community outreach booth at the Pride Festival, as well as a recruitment booth.
The festival begins on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Washington Square, and will resume at 11 a.m. the following day. The parade begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday. For a map of the parade route and additional information, visit utahpridefestival.org.
