Jon Joubert
Pig who broke the jaw of a 64-year-old woman.
Bountiful Utah police corporal Jon Joubert.
An internal investigation from the Bountiful Police Department found its own Cpl. Jon Joubert used excessive force while arresting 64-year-old Gretta Jensen in December 2020. Body camera footage shows Joubert punching Jensen in the face while she is on the ground as she yells for help.
Jensen, of North Salt Lake, has filed a $1 million federal lawsuit against Joubert, alleging that he violated her constitutional rights by using excessive force when he arrested her. She also argues that she had committed no crime.
In the lawsuit filed in October 2023, Jensen claims the arrest caused “severe physical pain, including a broken jaw, facial trauma, bilateral shoulder injury, elbow injury, head injury, neck injury, and other physical pain and suffering.”
Jensen was charged with interfering with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, an infraction, but the Bountiful city prosecutor dismissed those charges a month later.
On March 9, 2021, the Bountiful Police Department held a formal hearing concerning allegations that Joubert had violated several department policies during the arrest.
Bountiful Police Chief Edward Biehler issued a written reprimand, finding that Joubert “striking Gretta Jensen in the face was unreasonable and unnecessary.”
“You are younger, bigger, stronger, have a higher skill level, uninjured — she said she was injured — and had officers visually arriving,” the chief wrote. Additionally, Biehler found that “just prior to (Joubert) striking her in the face, (Joubert) told her to put her hands behind her back. She was physically unable to comply with that command as you were on top of her and pinning her arms to her chest.” Also, Joubert released an arm he had in control, to punch Jensen in the face, the reprimand says.
Five officers involved in reviewing the aspects of the case had similar observations, according to the reprimand. “Every one of those officers said this incident looks bad and that they would not have used that level of force in that situation. That is five reasonable officers suggesting that they would not have used that level of force,” Biehler said.
“Further investigation was reasonable and that the further detention was appropriate,” the police chief said, after it was alleged Joubert did not have a lawful reason to detain Jensen.
Jensen’s civil lawsuit against Joubert remains ongoing. She is seeking damages of $1 million plus attorney fees and punitive damages.
MattandJeni
I was a mom of two little babies in my car and I had gotten out of the car because my brother just got pulled over and he was suicidal. I tried to simply ask Jobert to understand the situation and told him that my brother is suicidal and I just need to make sure he’s okay. All he did was yell at a mom in front of her two kids in her car and then took my phone away when I tried to ask questions and then went on to shove me against the car right in front of my kids as I was pleading to him to tell me what I was doing wrong because my kids are right there in the car. This same officer had no remorse and his fellow officers could not explain the reason why he sent me to jail that day for asking questions. I did the very same thing and I picked up my phone and started walking away to go back to my car when he grabbed me and put handcuffs on me and shoved my arms so far up my back that I had cuts and bruises on my wrists the very next day.