New UHP superintendent ready to help take on law enforcement's new challenges


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TAYLORSVILLE — For the first time, the Utah Highway Patrol held a formal ceremony on Wednesday to transfer authority of the state police force from the outgoing superintendent to the new one.

The new superintendent is a man who spent plenty of shifts patrolling to keep the community safe.

Col. Michael Rapich replaces Col. Daniel Fuhr, who is retiring after more than 21 years of service. Rapich has been with UHP for 24 years, much of it in leadership roles.

The Utah Highway Patrol numbers more than 460 men and women patrolling the roads of Utah.

"The badge of every law enforcement officer symbolizes the fact that we've taken on the responsibility of the honor for the opportunity to act on other people's behalf," said Rapich after being sworn in. "To be of service. To be there when people need us the most."

The Green River native recently completed his Masters in Public Administration degree from Brigham Young University and was one of the first members of the DUI squad when it was established in 1994.

Rapich calls this an exciting time to be in law enforcement with unprecedented challenges every day. He recognizes that law enforcement is under plenty of public scrutiny.

As he was sworn in, Rapich called this, "an exciting time, with no greater challenges."

Among those challenges, a new report from the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund shows a 78 percent spike in shooting deaths of police officers the first half of 2016, compared with last year.

"We find ourselves in a new environment," said Rapich, who knows his troopers feel the pressure. Cameras are on the troopers, transparency is expected and errors are costly.

"Sometimes, the slightest mistakes get magnified across the entire nation," he said. "We need to be conscious of that."

But police officers get their appreciation in Utah too.

"The one thing that frustrates me the most is what you don't get to see, is what the officers see every single day," said Rapich. "When you walk into a restaurant, people walk up to you repeatedly and shake your hand and tell you how much they appreciate your service."

Regardless, he said, recruiting new troopers today is difficult. Seventeen recruits start in the police academy, soon. Rapich says they could use 17 more.

"If you know someone who's interested in being in Utah state trooper we would like to talk to you," he said.

In Dallas, following the fatal shooting of five police officers, Dallas Police Chief David Brown challenged those unsatisfied with law enforcement to serve their community as cops. Applications for police jobs have tripled since the shooting.

"I thought that was fantastic what the chief did," said Col. Keith Squires, Utah Commissioner of Public Safety. "I agree with that. This is something that we are all in together."

Rapich comes from a family line of troopers. His father retired as a captain after 32 years with the UHP.

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