Utah § 53-6-210.5 - Duty to intervene or report officer misconduct.

Full text of Utah Utah Code § 53-6-210.5 — Duty to intervene or report officer misconduct., with citation guidance and answers to common questions.

§ 53-6-210.5. Duty to intervene or report officer misconduct.

Effective 5/4/2022
53-6-210.5.  Duty to intervene or report officer misconduct.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Adverse action" means to discharge, threaten, or discriminate against an employee in a manner that affects the employee's employment, including compensation, terms, conditions, location, rights, immunities, promotions, or privileges.
(b) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency that is part of or administered by the state or any of the state's political subdivisions and whose primary and principal role is the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of criminal statutes or ordinances of this state or any of the state's political subdivisions.
(c) "Officer" means the same as peace officer as defined in Section 53-13-102.
(d) "Police misconduct" means conduct by an officer in the course of the officer's official duties that constitutes:
(i) force that is clearly excessive in type or duration, clearly beyond what is objectively reasonable under the circumstances, or clearly not subject to legal justification under Title 76, Chapter 2, Part 4, Justification Excluding Criminal Responsibility;
(ii) a search or seizure without a warrant where it is clear, under the circumstances, that the search or seizure would not fit within an exception to the warrant requirement; or
(iii) conduct that an objectively reasonable person would consider biased or discriminatory conduct against one or more individuals based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
(e)
(i) "Retaliatory action" means any adverse action, formal or informal, taken by a law enforcement agency or any of the law enforcement agency's employees, or by any individual with authority to oversee or direct a law enforcement agency, solely as a result of a law enforcement officer's or law enforcement agency employee's good faith actions in conformance with this section.
(ii) "Retaliatory action" does not mean education, training, or administrative discussion requested or required by a law enforcement agency or any of the law enforcement agency's employees, or by any individual with authority to oversee or direct a law enforcement agency, following or in connection with a law enforcement officer's or law enforcement agency employee's good faith actions taken in conformance with this section.
(2)
(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, an officer who is present and knowingly observes another officer engage in police misconduct as described in Subsection (1)(d)(i) or (ii) shall, if in a position to do so safely and without unreasonable risk to the safety of the officer or another individual, intervene to prevent the misconduct from continuing to occur.
(b) An officer who in good faith intervenes to prevent police misconduct from continuing to occur under Subsection (2)(a) is not liable in any civil or criminal action that might otherwise result due solely to the intervening officer's actions.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(b), an officer is not immune from otherwise lawful disciplinary action undertaken by the officer's employing agency in connection with the incident so long as the disciplinary action is not undertaken due solely to the officer's good faith decision to intervene.
(3)
(a)
(i) When a law enforcement agency employee is present and knowingly observes an officer engage in police misconduct as described in Subsection (1), the observing employee shall promptly report the misconduct and, if the observing employee is an officer, the observing officer's intervention, if any, to the employee's direct supervisor, the chief executive of the employee's employing law enforcement agency, or the chief executive's designee for internal affairs.
(ii) Notwithstanding Subsection (3)(a)(i), if the police misconduct to be reported by the observing employee directly involves the chief executive of the employee's employing law enforcement agency, or the chief executive's designee for internal affairs, the observing employee may report the misconduct to:
(A) the city attorney's office, if the observing employee works for a municipal law enforcement agency;
(B) the county attorney's office, if the observing employee works for a county law enforcement agency; or
(C) the attorney general, if the observing employee works for a state law enforcement agency.
(b) If the police misconduct reported under Subsection (3)(a) involves an officer from a law enforcement agency other than the reporting employee's employing agency, the chief executive of the reporting employee's employing agency shall promptly notify and communicate the report to the chief executive of the law enforcement agency whose officer's conduct is the subject of the report.
(c) A law enforcement agency employee who in good faith reports police misconduct under Subsection (3)(a) is not liable in any civil or criminal action that might otherwise result due solely to the reporting employee's actions.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (3)(c), a law enforcement agency employee is not immune from otherwise lawful disciplinary action undertaken by the employee's employing agency in connection with the incident so long as the disciplinary action is not undertaken due solely to the employee's good faith report of police misconduct.
(e) A law enforcement agency employee's failure to comply with Subsection (3)(a) may be cause for discipline in accordance with the policies and procedures of the employee's employing agency.
(4)
(a) A law enforcement agency may not take retaliatory action against a law enforcement agency employee due solely to an employee's good faith action under Subsection (2)(a) or (3)(a) to prevent or report police misconduct.
(b) Any retaliatory action by a law enforcement employee against another employee because that employee acted under Subsection (2)(a) or (3)(a) to prevent or report police misconduct shall be cause for discipline in accordance with the policies and procedures of the retaliating employee's employing agency.
(c) An employee who complains that retaliatory action has occurred has the burden to prove that retaliatory action or conduct in violation of this section has occurred.
(5)
(a) Not later than July 1, 2022, each law enforcement agency in the state shall adopt written policies that conform with the minimum standards set forth in this section.
(b) The threshold standards in this section do not preclude a law enforcement agency from adopting policies or establishing standards higher than the standards contained in this section.


Enacted by Chapter 182, 2022 General Session

Source: official Utah text · Last verified 2026-08-27

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Frequently Asked Questions About Utah § 53-6-210.5

What does Utah Code § 53-6-210.5 cover?

Section 53-6-210.5 ("Duty to intervene or report officer misconduct.") is part of the Utah Code, the codified statutory law of Utah. It sets out the legal rule or procedure described in the text above. Statutes are amended regularly, so always verify against the official source.

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