MAGNA, Utah — An investigator found that Magna Mayor Mick Sudbury acted unprofessionally — at least once making someone cry — toward employees of the city and a police department, exercised improper authority, and retaliated against a witness.
The investigator recommended Sudbury’s conduct, particularly his interactions with police, be referred to prosecutors to determine if the mayor committed crimes.
“The referral should be for independent evaluation,” the report states, “not a request that Mayor Sudbury be prosecuted.”
Sudbury declined FOX 13 requests for an interview, though his attorney forwarded a statement from the mayor.
“I have received and am reviewing the investigative report commissioned regarding city operations. My devotion to Magna and my passion for serving our residents have always guided my commitment to this community.
“Serving as Mayor comes with a continuous responsibility to listen, learn, and work collaboratively within our municipal government structure. I am carefully evaluating the contents of the report alongside legal counsel.
“Out of respect for the administrative process, the City Council, and our city staff, I will reserve detailed comments until that review is complete. My focus remains squarely on working for the people of Magna and ensuring our city’s progress continues uninterrupted.”
Magna’s city manager and members of the city council declined to comment. A news release dated Wednesday says the report was prepared at the city’s request. It retained “an independent third-party attorney to investigate” a complaint concerning Sudbury.
The report is dated Aug. 19. FOX 13 received a copy Thursday in response to a public records request.
The 85-page report explains that Magna’s form of government gives the city manager, not the mayor, authority over employees and day-to-day operations. Yet Sudbury repeatedly emphasized that he made the city’s decisions, the investigator wrote.
In one vignette, Sudbury got angry at an employee, said that person had no business questioning him, and told an employee to go into an office and cry. There’s also a description of at least one instance when Sudbury did make someone cry. That worker was trying to explain to the mayor how he or she was trying to keep him informed, the report says.
The investigation found Sudbury, the first elected mayor in Magna history, ordered employees not to speak to certain individuals, including members of the city council.
At least one employee described being concerned for his or her safety while near Sudbury. The report relays a witness account of Sudbury shoving a table at him or her. A witness also recounts how Sudbury once kicked his own dog “across the room.”
The investigator wrote the most serious finding was Sudbury’s interactions with law enforcement, finding that he threatened the employment of officers with the Unified Police Department when they did not do what he wished in certain cases and instances.
Unified Police provides police protection for Magna and its 30,000 residents.
The investigator found examples of Sudbury cursing at officers, including an incident from 2024, when Sudbury was serving on the city council and called officers “a_______.”
There are also descriptions of Sudbury arriving at police scenes and impeding officers. In one example, the investigator found Sudbury delayed a cop trying to reach a comrade who was in a physical struggle with another man.
Some of the report is redacted to protect identities of witnesses. The attorney also found Sudbury retaliated against one witness.
Sudbury reacted adversely to [redacted] participation in the investigation and,” the investigator wrote, “after learning of that participation, considered terminating employment at least in substantial part because of it.”
The mayor, according to the report, denied retaliation and other specific allegations.
“Sudbury did not dispute that significant conflict had developed among himself, City employees, [Municipal Services District] personnel, and UPD,” the investigator also wrote. “He disagreed, however, with the characterization of that conflict as a pattern of intimidation, retaliation, or improper exercise of office.”
Besides recommending the referral to prosecutors, the investigator made a series of recommendations to clarify in city ordinances and policies the responsibilities throughout Magna government and provide oversight to the mayor.
Otherwise, there is little the city manager and council can do, as Utah law does not give them the power to remove Sudbury, who took his oath of office in January and is serving a four-year term, nor does Utah have recall elections.