Police Officer Charged With Comp Fraud Pleads no Contest to Infraction

Monday, November 21, 2016 | 0

A Utah police officer pleaded no contest to an unspecified infraction as part of a plea deal after he was charged with workers' compensation fraud, according to a report in The Spectrum newspaper.

Former Cedar City police Officer Jason Thomas entered a plea of no contest to one count of "unspecified infraction" with the 5th District Court on Thursday, according to the report. He must pay a fee of $480 or complete 48 hours of community service by May 1 and also obtain a mental health evaluation "focusing on thinking errors" within the next 30 days, The Spectrum reported.

Thomas ended his employment with the Cedar City Police Department in June, but city officials declined to say whether he resigned or was terminated.

Prosecutors in July charged the 41-year-old former K-9 officer with workers' compensation fraud and theft by deception while he was out on long-term disability, the newspaper said.

Thomas was shot twice in January 2006 when he stopped to assist a motorist who was stuck in a snowbank, the newspaper said. He was injured again in January 2013 when an intoxicated man attacked him at the Cedar City Hospital. Thomas sustained a minor concussion from the assault.