Jeffery Thomas Westerman

Sources

1. Wedding Announcement for Jeff Westerman, XMission, August 11, 2000.
2. Former Provo officer accused of trading sex act in lieu of arrest, Deseret News, August 4, 2010.

• 1. Wedding Announcement for Jeff Westerman

  • 20000811
  • News article
  • XMission

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• 2. Former Provo officer accused of trading sex act in lieu of arrest

  • 20100804
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  • Deseret News

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  PROVO — A Provo police officer accused of threatening to take a woman to jail unless she exposed her breasts to him was arrested and booked into jail this week.

  Jeffery Westerman, 33, was arrested in Utah County on Tuesday but booked into the Juab County Jail for his protection. He was booked for investigation of forcible sexual abuse and obstruction of justice.

  On July 22, Westerman investigated a minor traffic accident in Provo near 300 S. University Ave. At some point during his investigation, "He used his position to request sexual favors in exchange for not filing criminal charges," said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon.

  There were originally two drivers involved in the traffic accident, and one driver was eventually sent away, according to a probable cause statement filed with the jail. The female driver was asked to perform sobriety tests and, according to witnesses, "wasn't performing well," the document states.

  Westerman drove the woman's car into a nearby parking lot. While searching the vehicle, the woman told police that Westerman "began swearing and yelling at her."

  After Westerman told her he was going to arrest her for a felony, "he gave her the option of exposing her breasts to him," the jail report states.

  Westerman proceeded to fondle her while "making crude sexual comments to her," according to the report. After she put her shirt down, Westerman allegedly told her to do it again because he was going to have to explain to his supervisor why he let a DUI suspect drive home.

  "She stated that she lifted her top again because she didn't want to go to jail," the report states, and Westerman left after allegedly fondling her a second time.

  The next day, the woman went to the Utah County Sheriff's Office to report what had happened.

  During the course of the investigation, Westerman "provided false statements" to deputies, Cannon said. But evidence was later collected that substantiated the victim's story.

  "Nearby businesses had video surveillance to support what she said," Cannon said. "There were also statements from witnesses who saw the two together at that time."

  The surveillance video does not show the actual assault, Cannon said. But it corroborates her story about where she was and when.

  Westerman told investigators he was at the accident scene for only 10 minutes. Surveillance video, however, shows he was on scene for more than 50 minutes, the jail report states. The video also showed him driving her car to a nearby parking lot and searching it, just as she reported.

  Provo police referred all questions to Provo City spokeswoman Helen Anderson. She said Westerman's employment with the Provo Police Department was terminated last week after an internal review. He had been an officer since 2006.

  "We've done our internal investigation, which resulted in his termination, but the county is doing the criminal investigation," Anderson said.

  The case will be reviewed by the Utah County Attorney's Office to determine if charges should be filed. Westerman is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 10.

  "Here, we have a public figure who is sworn to uphold and protect laws, and it's of great concern to the state that he's alleged to have abused those powers," deputy Utah County attorney Craig Johnson said. "We want to hold him accountable."

  Johnson said he and Westerman's defense attorney, Greg Skordas, had a conference call with a Juab County judge Wednesday morning, and bail was set at $1,000 cash or $10,000 cash or bond. Westerman posted bail about noon Wednesday.