- Street Cop Training works with officers across the United States.
- New Jersey recently labeled the training as violent, discriminatory, against the law.
- Most Utah police departments have decided not to continue working with Street Cop Training, although the Emery County Sheriff's Office stated it would "love to attend more training."
- New Jersey has required all officers to be retrained, but Utah has not.
*** This story contains explicit language used by an organization that works to train police officers ***
SANDY — Police departments across Utah have spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on a company that was recently cited for coaching officers to glorify violence and ignore the Constitution.
Instructors with Street Cop Training were caught encouraging officers to break the law, while making “more than 100 harassing, discriminatory remarks” at a conference in Atlantic City, according to an investigation by the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller (OSC).
“What we found was really disturbing,” said Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh. “Instructors taught unconstitutional policing practices, teaching officers to stop motorists without a lawful basis and to illegally prolong traffic stops. They denigrated women and racial and ethnic minorities. They promoted a warrior mentality and glorified violence. They belittled internal affairs. They dehumanized civilians. They made jokes about their genitalia and harassed members of the audience. This training was paid for with public funds.”
Here are some examples of the concerning comments, which were caught on video and published in the New Jersey report.
- “I watched this car come off the highway,” said instructor Rob Ferreiro. “I’d **** the **** out of the female driver. She doesn’t want to **** me back though.”
- “I love what the **** I do for a living,” said instructor Tim Kennedy. “There's nothing else I'm good at. I love violence. I love fighting. I love shooting, and I ****ing love freedom... It wasn’t that long ago that we were drinking out of the skulls of our enemies. Like, I’m going to ****ing murder this guy, and then I’m going to take his head, and then I’m going to cut his head in half, and then I’m going to boil his skull, and then I’m going to drink out of that skull. ****ing rad, right?”
- “I want to ****ing die like 91 with hookers and cocaine around me, you know?” said instructor Dennis Benigno.
- “Run from me? Somewhere along the chase becomes (gunshot noises),” said instructor Shawn Pardazi. “(I can) neither confirm nor deny there’s some videos of me doing just that.”
Chris Hubbard, who lives in South Jordan, noticed the New Jersey report and brought it to our attention.
He wanted to know how many officers in Utah might have received similar training.
“They knew this was being recorded. It wasn’t a couple of guys at a bar just bragging,” Hubbard said. “In private industry, if I stood up on a stage at a conference and said stuff like that? I would be fired on the spot. They would drag me off the stage, and that would be the end of my career.”
HERE'S HOW MUCH YOU'VE PAID, SO FAR
According to data from the Utah Office of the State Auditor, eighteen police departments in Utah spent approximately $13,000 in taxpayer money on classes with Street Cop Training.
FOX 13 News reached out to each of those departments to learn more about the training they received.
We found at least 84 officers attended classes from Street Cop Training. None have disclosed attending the conference in Atlantic City, but in many cases the instructors were the same.
Most of the departments have responded to our questions, with the exception of Tooele County Sheriff's Office.
We have included individual responses from each of the 18 law enforcement agencies at the bottom of this story.
Bob Sykes, a civil rights attorney in Utah, said the $13,000 is pretty cheap compared to the millions of dollars taxpayer could have to spend on lawsuits if officers follow bad training.
“It destroys the Constitution!” Sykes said. “You have to have reasonable suspicion (to detain someone). You can’t just be guessing. The way I read this report and look at the videos, they’re trying to find a way around all that... It’s just going to get them in trouble. It’s going to get them sued.”
Sykes said he was especially concerned to see officers being taught to detain people simply because they looked at officers or glanced away from them.
“Not all cops are dishonest. Absolutely not,” Sykes said. “Most of them are really good people. But there’s enough of them that bend these rules and violate people’s rights that it’s extremely alarming... These people are teaching bad techniques that violate law, and we don’t want our taxpayer money paying for that.”
SOME, BUT NOT ALL, REFUSE TO USE STREET COP TRAINING IN THE FUTURE
Chief Matthew Gwynn of the Roy Police Department said he has had four officers attend classes through Street Cop Training, but they did not attend the conference in Atlantic City.
“I can’t speculate as to whether (our training) was better or worse,” Gwynn said.
Roy PD will not be using Street Cop anymore.
“We teach our officers that you cannot unnecessarily delay a traffic stop. You have to have a reason for a stop. You can’t make one up arbitrarily, and once you’ve made the decision that you no longer have a reason to detain them any longer? You have to let them go!” Gwynn said. “What I don’t want is to continue to send officers to that training, and upon cross examination, find out that they were taught incorrectly, and they thought they believed they were doing the right thing and end up losing cases.”
Travis Rees, the director of Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), sent guidance to chiefs and sheriffs across the state to warn them about the poor training.
“It's disgusting. It's unacceptable. It’s personally offensive to our profession,” Rees said. “I wouldn’t want my son or daughter anywhere near that, and that goes for every officer in the state.”
However, Rees said there is nothing POST can do to force departments to stop sending their officers to Street Cop Training classes – other than not giving credit for the training.
“I don’t know how an agency would be able to defend sending officers to that training after receiving that (POST) email,” Gwynn said. “My response was to immediately tell my staff, immediately, that we’re not sending officers to this training.”
Utah POST Director Travis Rees explains below why he feels inappropriate training is unlikely to get past Utah law enforcement:
Not all departments have followed Roy PD’s lead.
In an email, the Emery County Sheriff’s Office wrote it is “not concerned” with the training it received. Their officers did not attend the conference in Atlantic City, but they took classes from a Street Cop Training instructor named Zach Miller.
Miller was named in the New Jersey report for giving concerning legal advice.
The deputies used words like “impressed,” “phenomenal,” and “awesome” to describe the training they received.
The Emery County Sheriff’s Office stated it would “love to attend” more training with Street Cop Training in the future, “especially if the course was being taught by (Miller).”
“I don’t know why you would,” Rees said.
Currently, chiefs and sheriffs have the discretion to work with policing training companies of their choosing.
Police training companies in Utah do not have to be approved by POST for the instruction to count toward an officer's certification hours.
Rees said it would be an ineffective use of time and resources for POST to research and approve individual training companies.
UTAH OFFICERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BE RETRAINED AT THIS POINT
As the report was published, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office ordered all officers who received instruction from Street Cop Training must be retrained.
No such mandate has been made in Utah.
Rees said he does not feel a need for officers in Utah to be retrained “at this point,” but that could change as he continues to learn more information.
So far, none of the chiefs and sheriffs who have spoken with FOX 13 News have stated they will be retraining their officers.
“I don’t think we need to retrain them,” Gwynn said. “We’re doing that (type of) training all the time, so even if they got bad information? Or if we see something? We can take immediate corrective action.”
Most of the Utah departments who received training from Street Cop said they haven’t received any complaints from their officers.
According to the OSC report, nobody complained in New Jersey either.
"That's what concerns me," Hubbard said. "Not one of them complained."
STREET COP TRAINING'S RESPONSE
Street Cop Training has moved from New Jersey to Florida and filed for bankruptcy.
The company plans to continue training officers.
Dennis Benigno, the CEO and founder of Street Cop Training, did not respond to FOX 13 News' request for an interview, however he released a video statement on YouTube.
Benigno apologized for the crass language but otherwise defended the training.
“The truth of the matter is, almost 1,000 police officers know exactly what happened during the 2021 conference, and not one ever complained that there was anything short of great training,” Benigno said. “The OSC report also gives the perception that our training supports or promotes unconstitutional policing, and this is simply not true.”
Hubbard said he was disgusted to see Benigno refusing to take accountability for the words that came out of his own mouth.
"There’s a video of you claiming that you want to pepper spray and taze someone while also breaking their windows out, just for recording you with their phone, which is a First Amendment protected activity,” Hubbard said.
DENNIS BENIGNO: “You’re about to get pepper sprayed and ****ing tazed and windows broken out, mother****er.”
“While we were painted as the bad guys, we are in fact the good guys, creating better, more well-trained police officers for our country that expects the best,” Benigno said. “In fact, we advise all the attendees the material they are being taught is an extension of what they’re learning at their police academies.
Rees shook his head in disbelief upon hearing that last claim from Benigno.
“No way. No way,” Rees said. “His mindset is outdated and not up to our values.”
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES FROM EACH OF THE 18 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN UTAH
Centerville Police Department
- FY 2021, FY 2023
- 1 officer
- $599, according to Transparent Utah
- $199, according to Centerville PD
The Centerville Police Department says it paid $599 for a training in FY 2023 which was refunded; the officer did not attend. However, the department also found a $199 training for one officer in 2021 that did not appear on the Utah Office of the State Auditor’s website.
The officer is no longer with Centerville PD.
“We continually strive to identify high quality training for our officers and be good stewards of our entrusted tax dollars,” said Lt. Allen Ackerson.
Clinton Police Department
- FY 2022, FY 2023, FY 2024
- 7 officers
- $1,420
“Upon learning of the video, we asked our officers who had attended the training if there was anything that was presented or discussed that would be considered concerning or inappropriate while they attended Street Cop Training. The officers stated there was not,” said Chief Shawn Stoker. “The training attended was not part of the required block of training and therefore it will not require re-training, however we will continue to seek additional training from other vendors. At present time, we do not plan to use Street Cop Training in the future.”
Emery County Sheriff’s Office
- FY 2023
- 5 officers
- $995
So far, the Emery County Sheriff’s Office is the only agency that has voiced plans to continue using Street Cop Training in the future, stating they would “love to attend” more classes, “especially if the course was being taught by (Zach Miller).”
Miller was named in the New Jersey report for giving concerning legal advice.
Two of the deputies used words like “impressed,” “phenomenal,” and “awesome” to describe the training they received.
The department is not requiring any officers to be retrained.
Grantsville Police Department
- FY 2022
- 1 officer
- $249
The officer no longer works with Grantsville PD.
The department has not yet answered whether it plans to use Street Cop Training in the future.
Harrisville Police Department
- FY 2024
- 1 officer
- $199
The department said it is not requiring the officer to be retrained.
“After speaking to our officer, we are not concerned as the class decorum was described to be professional and informative,” said Assistant Chief Dennis Moore. “At this time, we would have reservations using Street Cop. We would wait until the complaints have been thoroughly investigated and Street Cop has been exonerated or found complicit in the acts of the alleged misconduct. In the latter case, we would not consider them as a viable training source.”
Heber City Police Department
- FY 2022
- 1 officer
- $299
The department said it does not plan to not use Street Cop Training in the future and that it is not requiring the officer to be retrained.
Kaysville Police Department
- FY 2024
- 0 officers
- $0
For unknown reasons, Transparent Utah listed a payment for $0.00 to Street Cop Training.
“We were able to confirm an officer was registered for the training, however for some unknown reason (class canceled or conflict with coverage) they were not able to attend and we were refunded,” said Officer Lexie Benson.
The department said it does not plan to use Street Cop Training in the future.
Layton Police Department
- FY 2024
- Multiple officers
- $1,445
Layton PD said it would “take a hard look” at whether to continue sending officers to Street Cop Training in the future.
"It wasn't the same type of training that that thing out of New Jersey was talking about," said Lt. Travis Lyman. "The patrol lieutenant had talked to the officers who had gone to that class, and they had said that the training had seemed appropriate. There wasn't anything like what was in that New Jersey report."
Roy Police Department
- FY 2022, FY 2023, FY 2024
- 4 officers
- $749
Roy PD said it will not use Street Cop Training in the future and that it is not requiring officers to be retrained, as they are “continuously trained.”
“What I don’t want is to continue to send officers to that training, and upon cross examination, find out that they were taught incorrectly, and they thought they believed they were doing the right thing and end up losing cases,” said Chief Matthew Gwynn.
Saratoga Springs Police Department
- FY 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
- 49 officers
- $1,371
Saratoga Springs PD declined an on-camera interview.
The department said it had officers attend classes taught by John Jacobs, Zach Miller, and Dennis Benigno. Officers are not required to be retrained.
Both Miller and Benigno were named in the New Jersey report for inappropriate training. Jacobs was not.
“We did not have any issues with the trainings we used,” said AnneElise Harrison, a spokesperson for the department. “When POST notifies us that we should not use a particular company, as they did with Street Cop Training, we discontinue using that company and find trainings from other vendors."
South Jordan Police Department
- FY 2024
- 4 officers
- $448
South Jordan PD said it does not plan to use Street Cop Training in the future and that it is not requiring officers to be retrained.
The department said it attended classes taught by Zach Miller and Kenny Williams, and there were “no concerns about the material taught or the professionalism of the instructor.”
Both Miller and Williams were named in the New Jersey report for inappropriate training.
“South Jordan PD did not send any officers to the conference in New Jersey,” said Sgt. Eric Anderson. “The clips provided by New Jersey officials are extremely disturbing. Training that encourages officers to employ techniques that violate civil liberties, disparage legitimate public safety initiatives, undermine police community relations, or promote a toxic culture in which any person is made to feel unwelcome are never acceptable.”
South Ogden Police Department
- FY 2023
- 1 officer
- $299
The officer no longer works with South Ogden PD.
The department did not commit to stop using Street Cop Training in the future, instead stating “this information will be evaluated and taken into consideration.”
South Salt Lake Police Department
- FY 2022
- 2 officers
- $897
South Salt Lake PD said it does not plan to use Street Cop Training in the future and that it is not requiring officers to be retrained.
“All of our officers follow department policy over any instruction from outside training,” said Officer Ryan Alvarez. “Our policies are reviewed often to ensure compliance with the United States Constitution, and all state and federal laws. SSLPD follows POST guidance and has discontinued using this vendor.”
Taylorsville Police Department
- FY 2023
- 2 officers
- $1,796, according to Transparent Utah
- $898, according to Taylorsville PD
Taylorsville PD said it does not plan to use Street Cop Training in the future and that it is not requiring officers to be retrained.
For unknown reasons, Taylorsville PD said the $1,796 payment listed on the Utah State Auditor’s website is not accurate.
“All officers that we send to training from non-Utah companies know that whatever is taught in the training has to be used within the laws of Utah and the policies of our department,” said Lt. Aaron Cheshire.
Tooele City Police Department
- FY 2023, FY 2024
- 2 officers
- $697
Tooele City PD said it does not plan to use Street Cop Training in the future and that it is not requiring officers to be retrained.
The department said the training its officers received was “vastly different” than what occurred in Atlantic City.
“Tooele City Police policy trumps this training and any training our officers attend,” said Cpl. Colbey Bentley. “To provide due diligence in this matter, we reviewed calls for service that both officers responded to since each of them attended their respective training to see if there were any complaints or issues with how they approached each case. Neither officer received any such complaints on their handling of their respective cases. With that being said, if any issues ever arise with any of our officers on their handling of cases, we are swift to correct action and teach the proper methods to be used.”
Tooele County Sheriff’s Office
- FY 2023
- Unknown number of officers
- $597
Despite multiple requests from FOX 13 News for comment, the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office did not respond.
Uintah County Sheriff’s Office
- FY 2023
- 1 officer
- $450
The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office stated it does not plan to use Street Cop Training in the future
The department is not requiring the deputy to be retrained, as he is leaving the department to pursue another opportunity in another state.
The deputy described the training as useful and professional.
Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office
- FY 2022, FY 2023
- 3 officers
- $598, according to Transparent Utah
- $847, according to Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office
Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said the $598 payment listed on the Utah State Auditor’s website is not complete because one deputy also attended a training in 2023.
The department stated it does not plan to use Street Cop Training in the future and has not yet stated whether it will require the officers to be retrained.