SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Once she was the UHP’s Trooper of the Year, making hundreds of DUI arrests a year.
But now, ABC 4 News has learned, some of Trooper Lisa Steed's cases are being dismissed - dismissed not by judges, but by the prosecutor responsible for trying them in court.
At his discretion, Salt Lake County's District Attorney can simply dismiss cases he doesn't think he can win and that is exactly what Sim Gill is now doing.
Just 5 years ago, Lisa Steed made so many DUI arrests; she was named the UHP's first female "Trooper of the Year".
In a 2007 comment to ABC 4, Steed said,
"Unfortunately, there are so many impaired drivers out there on the road, if you stop enough cars; you're going to find one."
But last year, Salt Lake's District Attorney started hearing complaints about Steed.
So, Sim Gill ordered a review of more than 30 of her cases.
Now, for the first time, Gill tells ABC 4 exclusively,
"In light of information that was available to us, we chose to dismiss some cases because we thought we could not go forward on them."
Because Gill's review is on-going, he won't say exactly why he's dismissing Steed's cases, only that he has the prosecutorial discretion to do so.
But a look at Steed's past may provide some clues.
In November, the state paid 40-thousand dollars a man who had been stopped by Steed.
He was tasered twice by her while he was still sitting in his car.
Now, in a new development, the district attorney's office also says that Steed has been reprimanded at least once by the UHP.
Josh Player, a Salt Lake County Deputy District Attorney told ABC 4,
"Yes, I have seen a letter of reprimand in the materials.”
ABC 4 then asked, “A highway patrol letter?”
To which Player replied, “Yes."
In fact, according to Joseph Jardine, a lawyer defending one of those arrested by Steed,
"We know there is a letter of reprimand but, for what reason, that remains a mystery."
But again, Steed's past court experiences may be revealing.
Just a few years ago, a Salt Lake City Judge handling one of her cases wrote,
"...Trooper Steed's testimony lacks credibility..."
Then there was the district court judge, who wrote,
"...the Court is troubled by Trooper Steed's failure to follow UHP policies."
While Sim Gill won't talk about Steed's credibility or her adherence to UHP rules, he will say,
"We believe that the right thing for us to do was to dismiss these cases."
Now, the UHP respectfully declined our request for a comment.
But a spokesperson did tell me that it's up to the district attorney about whether or not to proceed with these cases.
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