Tiny Utah town’s police chief accused of stalking

MYTON, Utah (AP) — The chief of a newly formed police department in the tiny eastern Utah town of Myton is accused of stalking three women.

Forty-four-year-old Thomas Wade Butterfield was charged Tuesday with five misdemeanors, including criminal trespass, unlawful detention and three counts of stalking.

Court documents don’t describe the alleged crimes, but say three women were victims.

Butterfield told KSL-TV on Tuesday that the charges were unfounded.

Mayor Kathleen Cooper tells The Salt Lake Tribune that people are innocent until proven guilty and says the city was standing by its chief for the time being.

Myton’s population is between 500 and 600. Its police department was formed over the summer and its staff is only Butterfield and an on-call substitute officer.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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