There’s a job opening at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, one where being a dummy is an advantage.
Law enforcement officers in the south-central Utah county, which includes the north entrance to Capitol Reef National Park, are looking for a new mannequin to place in the police cruiser that the sheriff’s office parks at strategic spots to deter speeders.
The old mannequin, dubbed “Deputy Parker Bogus Dolittle,” was originally procured by the former sheriff, Kurt Taylor, according to Deputy Micah Gulley. The new sheriff, Dan Jensen, was sworn in Monday, and when Taylor left office, he took Dolittle with him, Gulley said.
Gulley said a few people have called in, or posted on social media, wondering if the mannequin was stolen.
Dolittle served for 16 years on Wayne County’s highways and byways. The mannequin was the creation of Monica Bryan, a Loa seamstress and artist who worked at Capitol Reef. Dolittle freed up the county’s tiny sheriff’s office, which has only six full-time deputies, to do other police work.
The cruiser is a familiar sight to visitors driving down State Road 24, coming into Torrey. But Gulley said deputies move the cruiser to make drivers, mostly tourists, think twice about speeding.
“We take it from place to place wherever there is heavy traffic,” Gulley said.
The cruiser is still in use without the mannequin, Gulley said. The sheriff’s office aims to get a new mannequin soon.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Parked on the shoulder of Highway 24, Wayne County Sheriff's officer Parker Dolittle deters would-be speeders in the small town of Loa, Utah, Sept. 13, 2017.
