A group of door-to-door solicitors is claiming that Summit County Sheriff’s deputies were guilty of racial profiling when they arrested them for operating a business without a license last week.
According to Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds, eight people were arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 30, after a PineBrook resident called and reported salespeople in the neighborhood were being aggressive and hostile. Edmunds said they had previously received multiple complaints involving solicitors from Advanage Wonder Cleaner and deputies were following standard procedure.
“Over the past three years, we have booked 28 people on this same charge,” said Edmunds. “Most people who we arrest for operating a business without a license are from out of state. If we book them and make them pay bail, they are a lot more likely to show up to court.”
Earl Tanner, Advanage Wonder Cleaner’s Salt Lake City based attorney for six of the solicitors, said the officers showed discrimination in choosing to enforce the law in the ‘strictest way’ against the solicitors because they were black.
“The deputies only warned the white salesperson they saw in the area but arrested the eight black salespeople,” said Tanner. “They took the people’s backpacks and identification and kept them in jail for hours until they paid the $100 bail.”
Summit County Detective Sergeant Ron Bridge said deputies were aware of another solicitor in the area but had no idea of the person’s race or gender. Deputies searched for two hours but were unable to find her, according to Bridge.
“We have been booking people on this charge for a long time and the public opinion of the policy seems to be favorable,” said Edmunds. “No one should be brutalized or harassed when they open up their front door.”
“I have never had anything like this happen before,” said Mike Young, who has been selling Advanage products door-to-door for 10 years. “I was just the driver, I never even got out of the van, so I am not sure why they had to arrest me. They locked us up, but didn’t lock up the white lady we were with, that’s when it got racial. If you are going to do your job, then do your job right.”
Young said he was unaware a permit was needed in the county and would have applied for one if he had known.
“I wasn’t ignoring them, I have been working this area for years and didn’t know,” he said.
If charged with operating a business without a license, a class B misdemeanor, the salespeople could be fined up to $5,000 each and serve no more than six months in jail.
Tanner has not yet entered a plea for his clients, but said he will probably enter a not guilty plea since the no-solicitation ordinance in the area is an unconstitutional restriction on companies’ free speech.
“We are really hoping this whole thing just winds down and the county says ‘we made a mistake and we’re sorry,” said Tanner.”
Advange Field Manager Nathan Edwards said the Illinois-based company has been selling products door-to-door for decades and only occasionally encounters problems with cities being unhappy with their salespeople.
“Once in a while, places put up hurdles, but it is unconstitutional to say we can’t be in a certain area. Summit County is interfering with our ability to conduct a business and these people’s right to make a living,” he said.
Edwards said the company did have a solicitor’s license for Park City, but the driver for the salespeople was new and unaware that a permit was needed for the unincorporated areas as well.
Park City Municipal, Corp had a license on file for Advanage and solicitors license for five people from the company according to Park City Business License Operator Shelly Patch.
“They were not being belligerent, they were behaving like salespeople,” said Tanner. “Most of the salespeople are black and from inner-cities. If residents are not used to that they can get intimidated.”
“The county was so egregious with their behavior, they made us think they were racist,” said Edwards. “These kids were put in jail where they were humiliated and scared.”
Edmunds said he has not been contacted by anyone from the company, including their lawyer, since the arrests occurred.
“I find it very telling that it has been over a week and we haven’t heard from them,” he said. “We have mechanisms in place for people to file complaints. There have been no complaints filed yet, probably because there was no misconduct on our deputies’ part.”
According to Summit County Attorney David Brickey, the eight salespeople have up to 15 days from the time of arrest to enter a plea. If a guilty plea is entered, Judge Shauna Kerr will enter a sentence for them based on the citation issued by the sheriff’s office. If a not guilty plea is entered, the case will go to a pre-trial with both party’s lawyers.