LOGAN, Utah — The Logan City Police Department has terminated the employment of Miguel Deras, the former University of Utah officer who was investigated for allegedly mishandling sensitive evidence regarding the death of slain student Lauren McCluskey.
Deras became a probationary employee with Logan City PD after he left the University of Utah Police Department.
On Wednesday, the U of U and the Utah Department of Public Safety released the findings of an independent investigation regarding allegations that Deras shared compromising photos of McCluskey.
"Deras, a probationary employee, was released from employment after a thorough internal review of the recently completed Department of Public Safety investigation. The investigation concluded Deras mishandled sensitive evidence pertaining to the Lauren McCluskey extortion and subsequent homicide case while he was employed with the University of Utah Police Department," a statement from the Logan City Police Department said.
In May, The Salt Lake Tribune published a story alleging that Deras "was involved in downloading, sharing, and bragging about having explicit photos of Lauren McCluskey," an executive summary of the investigation said.
University of Utah Police Chief Rodney Chatman requested an independent investigation regarding the allegations, which found no physical evidence that Deras downloaded the images of McCluskey to his cellphone.
But the report concluded that Deras showed McCluskey's photos to at least three other officers outside of the context of a formal investigation.
According to the report, one officer reported hearing Deras say "He could look at [the photos] whenever he wanted."
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