SOUTH JORDAN — South Jordan will have a new police chief beginning in July, the city's police department announced Tuesday.
Jeff Carr, deputy commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety, will take over as South Jordan police chief on July 1. He replaces Lindsay Shepherd, who retired in May after heading the department since 1999.
The search for a new police chief was "extensive," and some candidates were from outside the state, according to a prepared statement released jointly by South Jordan and the city's police department.
“I am excited to obtain a chief with the professional credentials that Mr. Carr brings to our top law enforcement job,” South Jordan City Manager Gary Whatcott said in the prepared statement. “Mr. Carr’s background will afford the community the continued benefit of low crime through his strong leadership and commitment to community. He’s innovative and personable, which will allow him to feel at home here. The future of our police department and the security of our community will be in good hands with Mr. Carr as our new police chief.”
Carr has worked in law enforcement since 1983, when he started as a deputy sheriff with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. He was appointed as a major for the State Bureau of Investigation in 2007. He filled that position for six years.
"South Jordan is a growing and thriving community, and our work in the police department will continue to focus on professionalism and service through community-oriented policing," Carr said in the prepared statement released Tuesday. "I look forward to working with many city stakeholders on initiatives that will move the police department forward and help South Jordan reach its goals."
Carr graduated from the FBI National Academy and obtained a master's degree in public administration from BYU.
South Jordan Police Lt. Jason Knight has been working as interim police chief since Shepherd retired May 1.
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