Drivers across Utah get pulled over by DWR, feel targeted by 'illegal quota'

This story is part one of a two-part series.

To watch the second installment, tune in Friday to FOX 13 News at Nine.

Drivers across Utah are sick of getting pulled over by pickup trucks driven by wildlife officers.

Several have now come forward after watching a FOX 13 News investigation, exposing how some game wardens have decided to patrol freeways instead of wildlife areas to inflate their numbers.

• Game wardens have found ways to double crime stats in response to new policy
  

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) now asks wildlife officers to document one violation of the law every 23 hours, as of July 1, 2023 . Officers are graded on the “performance goal” as part of their annual evaluation.

DWR Police Chief Wyatt Bubak says it's not an illegal quota.

"We’re not increasing the crime," Bubak said. "We’re just better documenting what’s occurring."

The Utah Highway Patrol declined to comment on DWR's increased enforcement on freeways.

Police quotas have been illegal in Utah since 2018. Lawmakers passed a bill that year, specifically targeting departments that require officers to hit a certain number of citations or arrests.

The goal was to stop police from treating drivers and other members of the public like piggy banks.

• Police quotas are illegal, but Ogden says it has a ‘point system’ instead

• Emails reveal Ogden Police Department's ticket-for-revenue strategy

• 110+ Utah police agencies say they don’t use quotas or point-based evaluations

Mike Pellegrino, who lives in St. George, was pulled over in February.

"I'm 38 years old, and I've never been stopped by a game warden before!" he said. "I was completely flabbergasted when he told me he stopped me for speeding.

Pellegrino paid the ticket, but he insists he was not speeding.

He said his wife, who was sitting in the passenger seat, would back up his story.

"When I’m in the wrong? I’m in the wrong. She’s quick to tell me that!" Pellegrino said. "But in this case, she said, 'No, that’s not right. Something’s going on there.'"

Russel Simper, who lives in Provo, was pulled over two months later by the same wildlife officer.

"I was driving home one night, with my cruise control set on, and then all of a sudden I saw cop lights behind me," Simper said. "I was really confused. I had no idea they were able to pull you over on the freeway."

In both cases, Officer James Thomas wrote the ticket.

Thomas is a DWR K-9 officer.

Since 2021, records show he has written significantly more tickets on the freeway than any other wildlife officer.

Simper recorded the interaction on his cell phone.

Watch: DWR Officer James Thomas pulls over Russel Simper

At first, Thomas threatened to impound the car., stating Simper was driving over 100mph.
Eventually, he lowered the speed on the ticket to 90mph in a 70mph zone.

"That way I'm not gonna impound the vehicle."

Simper admits he has sped before, but he insists he was only driving approximately 75mph that night.

"He was trying to make it worse than it was to make me frightened," Simper said. "Then, he was trying to be the good cop by saying, 'Oh, I could have done this, this, and this, but I'm going to lower it for you.'"

Simper is contesting the ticket.

In the end, it will be his word versus the officer's. Game wardens are not equipped with radars or any other speed-detecting equipment in their trucks.

Instead, they use their own speedometers to estimate another driver's speed — also known as "pacing" a vehicle.

"A lot of cops now are actually just pacing," Thomas said.

Both Pellegrino and Simper said they were confused until they saw our reporting.

Now they feel like they were targeted because of the "performance goal."

"I have a bright yellow car. I’m 20 years old. It looks sporty, and I think he was just looking for another number," Simper said.

"It's no longer about catching bad people doing bad things, but doing things in an effort to justify the numbers to meet the quota," said a former DWR officer, who asked to not be identified due to fear of retaliation.

WATCH: A former wildlife officer explains why he feels the new "performance goal" is bad for the future of DWR.

Records show DWR traffic stops on freeways have tripled since 2021.

Since the performance goal was implemented, more than 50% of those traffic stops have been from the same three DWR officers: James Thomas, Mark Shepard, and Mike Loveland.

"To me, it seems exactly like a quota," Pellegrino said. "It feels like they are afraid that they’re not going to be needed. Maybe they feel like they have to go out and make things up to make it look like they’re busier than they really are."

In an interview with FOX 13 News, Chief Bubak stated he does not want officers patrolling the freeways — but he expects them to enforce traffic laws if they spot violations while traveling between wildlife areas.

Three drivers, including Simper and Pellegrino, said they watched the wildlife officer pull over another driver on the freeway — immediately after they received their tickets. The third driver asked not to be identified due to fear of police retaliation.

"I didn't get a half mile up the road before he had someone else lit up," Pellegrino said.

"It really seemed like he was going from car to car," Simper said. "He sat there for a second, and he was right onto the next car.... I have 100 percent respect for a lot of officers. It's not an easy job, but I see no reason for (DWR) to be on the freeway at 11:00 at night."

Some drivers who spoke with FOX 13 News admitted they were speeding and that they deserved tickets, but they were still surprised to see game wardens doubling crime and tripling their traffic stops on the freeway.

"If you want to be UHP? Go ahead and be UHP," Simper said. "You're taking officers away from the mountains when there could be real crime happening. It's not helping me. It's not helping you. It's not helping the state of Utah."

Several lawmakers are now demanding answers. For that part of the story, watch Friday night on FOX 13 News at Nine.