Utah County sheriff defends removing people who refused to leave
Utah County Sheriff's OfficeUtah County Sheriff Mike Smith, speaking for the office
Smith defends removing people who refused to leave and says an alleged assault on a deputy will be addressed through legal process.
Responding to
Azalea struck a deputy while officers were removing her from the meeting.
“During last night’s incident, individuals who refused to leave after being directed to do so were escorted from the meeting by sheriff’s deputies. During that process, one individual allegedly assaulted a deputy. Violence against law enforcement officers is unacceptable, and our deputies deserve to perform their duties without being subjected to physical assault. The circumstances will be addressed through the appropriate legal process.”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Aspen Azalea disputes Utah County sheriff's account of her arrest at a data-center meeting
Aspen Azalea says a Utah County deputy threw her to the floor while removing her from an October 20 planning meeting. She denies kicking the deputy. The sheriff's office says she struck a deputy and resisted removal, and says supervisors are reviewing the incident. The planning commission recommended data-center rules; the county commission has yet to decide whether to adopt them.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
FOX 13 interviews Azalea about the October 20 meeting and quotes Smith's response. Azalea's account and the office's allegation of a strike are disputed.
Before the quotation
FOX 13 includes Smith's statement after Azalea describes the restraint and denies kicking the deputy.
After the quotation
The office says supervisors are reviewing the incident. His statement does not settle which physical account is correct.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The subject is deputies' removal and restraint of Aspen Azalea and the asserted justification for force. Smith defends removing people who refused to leave and says an alleged assault on a deputy will be addressed through legal process.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseAspen Azalea calls the deputy's force assault
“This is assault. He did throw me to the ground.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Utah County sheriff defends removing people who refused to leave
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/6544-smith-defends-removing-people-who-refused-to-leave
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Utah County sheriff defends removing people who refused to leave". First published: 2026-10-23. Last updated: 2026-10-23. https://disputeindex.com/events/6544-smith-defends-removing-people-who-refused-to-leave