Brighton ski resort in Utah is currently closed to uphill & downhill traffic due to Coronavirus.
Skiing and snowboarding at Brighton are currently considered trespassing – a misdemeanor offense.
A snowboarder who was allegedly snowboarding at Brighton ski resort today was yelled at and sworn at by a police officer.
Utah’s criminal code shows that trespassing is generally prosecuted as a class B misdemeanor which carries a penalty of up to 6-months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
Utah Criminal Trespass Consequences:
“In most cases, Criminal Trespass is prosecuted as a class B misdemeanor in Utah. However, if the intrusion was into a dwelling, then Criminal Trespass is charged as a class A misdemeanor. Utah penalties for a class B misdemeanor can include up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1000. Utah penalties for a class A misdemeanor can include up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2500. A conviction for Criminal Trespass can also result in a criminal record, community service hours, and probation. Any criminal record, even one for a misdemeanor, can stand in the way of employment positions, volunteer opportunities, lease agreements, and create other unforeseen roadblocks in your future.”
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Effective 5/9/2017
76-6-206. Criminal trespass.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) “Enter” means intrusion of the entire body or the entire unmanned aircraft.
(b) “Remain unlawfully,” as that term relates to an unmanned aircraft, means remaining on or over private property when:
(i) the private property or any portion of the private property is not open to the public; and
(ii) the person operating the unmanned aircraft is not otherwise authorized to fly the unmanned aircraft over the private property or any portion of the private property.
(2) A person is guilty of criminal trespass if, under circumstances not amounting to burglary as defined in Section 76-6-202, 76-6-203, or 76-6-204 or a violation of Section 76-10-2402 regarding commercial obstruction:
(a) the person enters or remains unlawfully on or causes an unmanned aircraft to enter and remain unlawfully over property and:
(i) intends to cause annoyance or injury to any person or damage to any property, including the use of graffiti as defined in Section 76-6-107;
(ii) intends to commit any crime, other than theft or a felony; or
(iii) is reckless as to whether the person’s or unmanned aircraft’s presence will cause fear for the safety of another;
(b) knowing the person’s or unmanned aircraft’s entry or presence is unlawful, the person enters or remains on or causes an unmanned aircraft to enter or remain unlawfully over property to which notice against entering is given by:
(i) personal communication to the person by the owner or someone with apparent authority to act for the owner;
(ii) fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to exclude intruders; or
(iii) posting of signs reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders; or
(c) the person enters a condominium unit in violation of Subsection 57-8-7(8).
(3)
(a) A violation of Subsection (2)(a) or (b) is a class B misdemeanor unless the violation is committed in a dwelling, in which event the violation is a class A misdemeanor.
(b) A violation of Subsection (2)(c) is an infraction.
(4) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(a) the property was at the time open to the public; and
(b) the actor complied with all lawful conditions imposed on access to or remaining on the property.
There is never any excuse for screaming and using profanity in this way by a police officer. We wouldn’t get a free pass because we were having a bad day. If this officer can’t keep his act together, it’s time for him to be sent home until he can figure it out. No more free passes!
I think sometimes people forget that cops are people too. This might have been the 15th person he had to reprimand for ignoring stay at home orders (or whatever they have in Utah). He might have just finished working a car wreck where someone died. He might just be feeling the stress of being out in public all day, every day amid the pandemic. Maybe the boarder needed to be yelled at and maybe he didn’t, but I’d bet money the cop has been having a tough few weeks.
Brighton is closed so what were they doing there?
Dude WAS TRESPASSING … he’s standing in the parking lot!
Shouldn’t he be spending his time harassing real criminals??
Real professional
But if the snowboarder injured himself on the property, say, by triggering an avalanche do you think the snowboarder would sure the resort? And what if rescuers are injured during the rescue?