Utah town targeted tourists for tickets

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SPRINGDALE, Utah, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A Utah town said it is repaying thousands in traffic tickets after a state investigation found the police intentionally targeted out-of-towners.

Officials in the town of Springdale, which sits on the southern edge of Zion National Park and draws 2.8 million visitors annually, most passing through the town, targeted motorists not from the area, especially foreigners. When officers pulled over the tourists they would demand cash payment on the spot to settle the traffic ticket or threaten to force them to go to court.

A state audit found 132 missing traffic tickets from the town's records and notes officers could have pocketed the cash extorted from those passing through town, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

So far, about $7,200 has been repaid to the unfairly targeted motorists.