Public Safety

SYRACUSE — The police department soon will be the first in Utah to benefit from a gift of bulletproof vests for its canine officers, Kade and Drake.

The dogs will be receiving ballistic vests in the next few months, thanks to a nationwide Groupon event.

The vests will be a gift from Vested Interest in K-9s. Inc., a nonprofit organization and charity partner selected by Groupon Grassroots to participate in raising funds.

Sandy Marcal, president of Vested Interest in K-9s, Inc., said she started the effort in Massachusetts 13 years ago, providing vests for dogs in her state, an effort she has expanded to include dogs from across the country. She said Kade and Drake are the first dogs she has outfitted in Utah.

ANTELOPE ISLAND — Rather than the goat, the race spectator “love tapped” by a bison during an Antelope Island endurance run may have been the hero.

Ty Draper, 50, of Colorado Springs, Colo., said he, along with two other spectators, were attempting to shoo a bison away from a critical turn in the race when the animal charged him.

A photo taken by race spectator Wayne Ebenroth, of Boise, shows Draper getting pinned against a chain-link fence at White Rock Bay on the island.

WILLARD — Officials are crediting a beaver dam with helping contain a diesel fuel spill at Willard Bay State Park.

More than 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a leaky pipeline has been recovered so far, an executive of Chevron Corp. said Wednesday.

Click here to see the news conference.

Terry Duhon, vice president of Chevron’s midcontinent region, addressed efforts to clean up the spill during a news conference at the company’s South Salt Lake offices.

SOUTH OGDEN — Police are unsure who owns a pit bull that ran into a house Saturday and mauled a cat so badly it had to be euthanized.

Cat owners say their 13-year-old tabby Milo lost its teeth and several back claws, then bled severely throughout the room where it was attacked around 12:30 p.m., before he could be separated from the dog.

A veterinarian could not save the cat, and Milo had to be euthanized.

FARMINGTON — The Davis County Sheriff’s Office will conduct a sobriety checkpoint from 10 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday.

The checkpoint will be on the northbound lanes at Mile Marker 4 on Legacy Parkway in the Bountiful/Woods Cross area.

The reason for the checkpoint is to stop impaired driving over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, according to a news release.

Officers will also inspect driver’s licenses, registrations and auto insurance.

SALT LAKE CITY — State lawmakers are taking action to prevent another breach of sensitive data following the inadvertent release of almost 800,000 names in 2012.

The House voted unanimously to approve legislation establishing guidelines for how information for Medicaid and CHIP recipients will be handled and also pushing the state to actively identify industry best standards in protecting electronic databases.

The measure, SB 20, now goes to the governor.

OGDEN — An Ogden police officer is not at fault for shooting and killing a German shepherd at a local residence earlier this month, according to an internal review by the police department.

“After careful consideration and review of the incident, the Shooting Review Board has determined that the actions taken by Officer Brandon Rammell were justified and within the guidelines of the Ogden City Police Department Use of Force Policy … and did not violate Utah state law governing use of deadly force,” the police department said in the report regarding the March 3 incident.

The shooting of the German shepherd, named Max, owned by Dan and Roxanne Marocchi was investigated by Ogden police lieutenants Danielle Croyle and Chad Ledford and Sgt. Tim Scott.

Roxanne Marocchi disputes the police department’s claim that the shooting was justified, but isn’t surprised by the result of the investigation.