USU Police. Photo courtesy of Utah State University
LOGAN – A national search for Utah State University’s next chief of police has led to three finalists who have been invited for on-campus interviews next week.
Finalists are Blair Barfuss, chief of police/director of public safety at Dixie State University (Utah Tech University); Danielle Croyle, executive officer at the South Salt Lake Police Department; and John Sherman who relocated to Utah after his recent retirement from the Los Angeles Police Department.
The candidates will provide a public presentation: “Building Bridges Between Law Enforcement and the University Community — A Model for Collaboration.” All presentations will take place on campus at the Distance Education Building across the street from the Edith Bowen School.
John Sherman’s appearance is Monday, May 2, while Blair Barfuss will follow Tuesday, May 3 and Danielle Croyle Wednesday, May 4, at 1-1:45 p.m. each day. All presentations will be broadcast on Zoom throughout the state.
The candidate who is selected will replace Earl Morris who resigned on December 16, 2021, a day after the university placed him on administrative leave pending confirmation of what administrators called, “reprehensible and unacceptable comments made to USU student-athletes.”
The resignation came after an audio recording was made public as part of a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Federal Court. During an alleged football team meeting last fall, Morris is heard warning players that Latter-day Saint women “may have sex with you,” but then tell their religious leaders that it was nonconsensual. He continued to explain that the women might be “feeling regret” for having sex before marriage, which goes against the faith’s teachings of abstinence, so they’ll say it was assault.