Franklin County Sheriff retiring after 40-year law enforcement career

PRESTON – After 12 years serving arsenic Franklin County’s 13th sheriff, David Fryar is stepping down.

The 67-year-old Preston man will decorativeness his 3rd word astatine nan extremity of nan year, and he feels nan clip is correct to discontinue from a rule enforcement profession spanning 4 decades.

“I’ve been successful nan sheriff’s agency for 40 years, and I’ve loved each infinitesimal of it,” Fryar tells EastIdahoNews.com. “This is not conscionable an eight-hour job. You get calls each nan time, time and night. At my age, I conscionable felt it was time.”

Fryar doesn’t person immoderate peculiar plans for retirement. He’s looking guardant to having much clip for his grandchildren. He wants to service a religion ngo pinch his woman astatine immoderate point, and has considered getting a part-time job. Outside of that, he’s playing it by ear.

Meanwhile, respective candidates person revenge to tally successful his place. Cuylor Stoker, a 19-year seasoned of nan Preston Police Department, won nan Republican superior successful May pinch 43% of nan ballot (1,399 full votes). Two independent, write-in candidates are besides moving — Jason Bunderson and Mike Wilson.

Fryar has nary qualms astir immoderate of nan candidates but feels Stoker is nan champion prime to switch him and is supportive of his campaign.

“I’ve worked pinch Cuylor for a agelong time, and I’ve watched him turn successful rule enforcement,” says Fryar. “I deliberation he’s nan champion prime for sheriff.”

Career highlights and accomplishments

Fryar has been progressive successful a batch of nan awesome changes astatine nan sheriff’s agency complete nan past 25 years. Among them are exertion upgrades for dispatchers, which Fryar says has improved their expertise to respond to emergencies successful a master manner. He counts that arsenic 1 of his top accomplishments.

“Dispatch has travel a agelong way. We’ve been capable to grow our agency and springiness deputies a amended spot to work,” says Fryar.

There are 10 deputies, each of which person a circumstantial assignment, which Fryar says gives nan sheriff’s agency much versatility successful responding to crimes aliases emergencies.

He cites 2 homicide cases successful Franklin County arsenic being peculiarly memorable. One of them was a home situation, and nan different was a “relationship that went bad.” He declined to supply details, retired of respect for nan families involved, but he’s proud that nan investigation of each lawsuit allowed them to get a condemnation for nan suspects.

In nan process, he’s spent a batch of clip pinch nan victims and their families. It’s been rewarding for him to get to cognize them and thief them.

“The point I’ve loved astir about being sheriff is my relation pinch people,” he says.

This photograph successful Fryar’s agency was taken connected 1982 and shows him arsenic a reserve serviceman early connected his rule enforcement career. | Courtesy David Fryar

‘I fell successful emotion pinch rule enforcement’

Fryar sewage his commencement arsenic a reserve serviceman for nan sheriff’s agency successful 1981. He was besides a personnel of nan hunt and rescue team. He was moving arsenic an electrician erstwhile he applied to beryllium a full-time patrol lawman successful 1986.

“Eudean Gunnell was nan sheriff then. He conscionable said, ‘The occupation is yours’ (without testing me),” Fryar recalls. “He threw maine nan keys to nan car and said, ‘Call maine if you request me.'”

Fryar later attended and graduated from POST Academy successful Boise.

The work facet of rule enforcement and nan desire to thief group successful reliable situations is what drew Fryar to this profession path.

“I fell successful emotion pinch rule enforcement, and I didn’t moreover cognize what I was doing until I really sewage into it,” Fryar says.

Over nan years, he’s looked for opportunities to service beyond what’s required. There were group who were stranded connected galore occasions, and he was gladsome to help.

“I retrieve respective times calling my woman and saying, ‘We request to tally to Salt Lake. These group are stranded, truthful let’s return them backmost home,'” Fryar says. “You felt bully aft doing thing for illustration that.”

For astir of his career, Fryar worked nether Sheriff Don Beckstead, Franklin County’s longest-serving sheriff. Fryar was his main lawman and he’s grateful for his leadership.

David Fryar arsenic a main deputy, right, pinch Sheriff Don Beckstead. | Courtesy David Fryar

Fryar chose to tally for sheriff erstwhile Beckstead resigned because it felt for illustration “the earthy adjacent step” to him.

“Sheriff Beckstead did a awesome occupation and made a batch of improvements. I had immoderate ideas and wanted to spot if I could support things going,” Fryar says. “It worked retired good.”

He’s enjoyed going to activity each time for nan past 4 decades. That excitement astir nan occupation is what’s kept him going and it was ever his scheme to measurement down if that ever changed. Recently, he’s felt a “tinge” of a displacement successful his attitude. He has nan financial expertise to discontinue now and he’s taking advantage of it.

A photograph of Fryar arsenic main lawman and a sheriff’s badge successful his office. | Left photograph courtesy David Fryar

Passing nan torch

As he finishes retired his term, Fryar is grateful to nan organization for giving him nan opportunity to service successful this capacity. His interactions pinch colleagues and organization members is what he’s going to miss most.

“I’m ever going to emotion this place,” he says. “And I’ll ever person an liking successful what’s happening. I admit nan region trusting maine pinch nan work to lead nan sheriff’s office.”

His proposal to his successor is to person an unfastened doorway and beryllium disposable to nan public.

Stoker praises Fryar for his efforts. Stoker said if he wins, his extremity is to supply a much standardized meaning of expectations successful nan sheriff’s agency truthful that it’s “cohesive for our judicial system” and criminals tin “more successfully beryllium held accountable.”

Stoker is grateful to those who person supported him and he’s encouraging group to get retired and ballot connected Nov. 5.

“I really dream to beryllium capable to service Franklin County arsenic nan sheriff,” says Stoker.

A photograph of David Fryar and his wife, Tina. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com