Son of county commissioner says dad wasn't trying to abuse his office
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The son of a southeastern Utah county commissioner is defending his father who was caught on police body camera video in a tense exchange with a sheriff's deputy.
Body camera video, obtained by KUTV 2News through a public records request, showed San Juan County Commissioner Bruce Adams pressuring the deputy to let his son go despite an active warrant for his arrest. That led top sheriff's officials to review the footage and express concern to Adams about his behavior.
But Kenneth Adams, who was arrested November 25 after getting pulled over for a traffic violation, said he doesn’t believe his dad was trying to do anything wrong that night.
“I think my dad was just beyond frustrated,” Kenneth told KUTV 2News in a Zoom interview from his home in the Phoenix area.
'I want you to turn him loose'
After Kenneth Adams was taken to jail that night, Bruce Adams showed up and began berating Deputy Wyatt Holyoak and demanding to see the warrant.
Holyoak said he wasn’t allowed to show him anything on his computer, but Adams persisted. After calling and getting permission from his boss to show Adams the warrant to “de-escalate the situation,” Holyoak did so. But the commissioner still wasn’t satisfied.
“I want you to turn him loose,” Adams said.
“I can’t turn him loose, Bruce,” Holyoak responded.
“Who can?” Adams asked.
“Nobody can,” replied Holyoak. “He’s been arrested for a warrant.”
“And the warrant’s false!” Adams said.
This was concerning to the sheriff's office who later expressed concern to Adams about his “lack of professionalism.” In a police report, Deputy Holyoak wrote that he believed Adams “was trying to use his influence as a County Commissioner to intimidate me” during the encounter.
Kenneth Adams disagrees.
“When I heard that, that's absolutely ridiculous,” he told KUTV 2News. “My dad takes his office very seriously, dude. Like, very seriously.”
Kenneth said he and his family believed his probation – which was connected to a burglary and theft case from 2020 – was all in order.
“I did everything I was supposed to do,” he said. “I was in compliance with everything I was supposed to be in compliance with.”
But the Seventh District Court disagreed, issued an arrest warrant on October 13 due to several documents that were missing for Kenneth Adams’ probation, according to court records.
While arguing with the deputy, Bruce Adams threatened to take legal action against the county because he believed the warrant was not valid.
“Do you want me to sue the son-of-a-b------ county sheriff because he arrested my kid on a false warrant?” Adams yelled.
“The warrant’s right there,” Holyoak responded.
Former deputy police chief reacts
Chris Bertram, a former deputy police chief and associate professor of criminal justice, reviewed the body camera footage and told KUTV 2News Deputy Holyoak handled the situation “exceptionally well.”
“These are tense situations,” Bertram said. “That deputy was calm, collective, de-escalated the situation. Tried to solve the problem, too.”
Bertram said there is an inherent power dynamic between an elected official and a law enforcement officer, especially if that official can influence the agency’s budget.
“For an elected official to say you’re going to do this, or you’re going to release him now, they overstepped their bounds,” Bertram said.
In an interview with KUTV 2News Thursday, Bruce Adams admitted he was out of line that night, and he said he apologized to the sheriff the next day.
“He owned it,” Bertram said. “You don’t always see that with politicians. You’d like to see that with politicians. But in this case, he owned it.”
The warrant for Kenneth Adams ended up getting recalled after he was booked and released from jail. The court got the documents it needed, his probation was restored to good standing, and hs bail money was refunded, according to court records.
