TAYLORSVILLE — There was never any doubt what Michael Rapich would do with his life. From an early age he made it clear he wanted to be a highway patrol trooper— like his old man.
Steven Rapich was a trooper for 32 years. Michael used to listen intently as his father recounted stories of high-speed chases, arresting intoxicated drivers and recovering stolen vehicles: “I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do,” he says.
When Michael turned 18 he used school release time to work in the Utah Highway Patrol office in Green River and ride along with his father and other troopers while they were on duty.
“That’s all he wanted to be was a trooper,” says Steven, a retired captain. “I was proud that he wanted that.”
It was only fitting that when Michael was promoted to colonel as superintendent of the UHP earlier this summer, Steven participated in the ceremony. After Michael’s wife, Karrie, pinned the badge on her husband’s shirt, Steven pinned the colonel’s insignia on his collar. For years he had joked that he would retire before he had to salute his son as his superior, but now he gladly took a step back and saluted Michael, who then returned the salute.
“That was a special part of the ceremony,” says Michael Rapich. “My father is probably more excited than I am about this (promotion).”
The boy who wanted to be a trooper is now Utah’s chief trooper at the age of 46, replacing the retired Daniel Fuhr. Rapich was sitting in his office recently, and over his shoulder there was an old photo of him and his father posing together in their uniforms. The second-generation trooper is a tall man with the slender build of a distance runner, close-cropped gray hair and a pleasant, weathered face. Just talking about his work causes him to lean forward in his chair, a knee bobbing up and down like a sewing machine, as if he can’t wait to get to it.
He is no stranger to the inner workings of command, having served as one of Fuhr’s two assistants for seven years, but it isn’t what he envisioned for himself.
“I wanted nothing more than to be a UHP trooper,” he says, and by this he means he wanted to be on the road doing the daily work of a regular officer. That lasted only seven years ,and then he was promoted to administrative positions. “I missed being on the road,” he says.
He still pulls over a couple of cars driving to and from work each day, and whenever he can he joins special enforcement details.
“I was pretty proud,” Steven Rapich says of his son’s promotion, “but I wasn’t surprised. I’ve never seen anybody work harder at that job than he does. He’s always put in way more hours than he was paid for.”
Officers who work overtime without authorization for overtime pay are supposed to take comp time, but the younger Rapich has worked such long hours that he turned back hundreds of hours of comp time over the years.
Rapich pursued a UHP career because of his father’s influence, but this is no longer his father’s UHP. Everything about it has changed, for better or worse. Laptops and video have replaced yellow legal pads and pens, and the scope of the job has greatly expanded. Then there is the recent anti-cop environment that has developed in the U.S., the result of abusive behavior by a small number of officers and the proliferation of cellphone cameras. Seemingly every decision that a cop must make in a split second is recorded, downloaded to the internet and subjected to Monday morning quarterbacks in excruciating detail.
“The job has gotten bigger than ever and the environment is now transparent and immediate,” says Rapich. “What we do is available and scrutinized. You have to prepare for that kind of scrutiny. The margin for error is smaller than ever. Law enforcement has an obligation to honor the trust and expectation that people have given us to act in their behalf. We emphasize this. We don’t ever forget what the badge represents. We want every interaction with the public to be what you would hope your family member would have.”
All this notwithstanding, Rapich believes the national media’s perception of anti-cop sentiment is not accurate. He notes that his officers receive thanks and appreciation from citizens when they’re out in public settings. He tells of one incident in which his officers received a standing ovation from customers in a restaurant. He claims that out of the thousands of interactions his officers have with the public each year, fewer than 1 percent results in a complaint from someone who was “less than totally satisfied with their interaction.”
The UHP collects dozens of letters each month from the public, thanking them for its service. To wit:
— Trooper Bills, in addition to being very professional (after a rollover accident), was extremely kind to me and my family. His attitude made this whole, terrible situation a lot better for (us).
— I was going to have my car towed because my husband is not physically able to change a tire. Trooper Broderick insisted on changing the tire for us. The traffic is very heavy and fast on I-84, and it was a very hot day. He was so kind and gracious and we appreciate all we did and the expense he saved us.
— I'm writing to commend (Trooper) Ekberg for how pleasant and respectful he was in an interaction we had earlier today. Mr. Ekberg was exceptionally human in his encounter with us, treating us with dignity throughout the whole stop.
— A couple of nights ago our 19-year-old daughter broke down on the highway late at night. She was terrified, in tears and did not know what to do. Trooper Bradford saw her and stopped. He helped push her Jeep Cherokee off the road, and because it was late drove her to her apartment … (He) made her to feel safe and cared for … She was overwhelmed by his kindness.
— This morning I was traveling north on I-15 and got a flat. … Trooper Hayes stopped to check on me and then went way out of his way to help change the tire by providing a jack and tire iron before I could even get mine out of the car. He was extremely polite and courteous.
— Officer Youngberg pulled me over Saturday and was very professional and courteous. He was sincerely concerned for my safety and helped me understand how I should correct my driving and be safer on the roads.
— In the wake of tragic events and national unrest that have taken place this week, we would like to express our deepest gratitude and respect for the exemplary job you do each day in serving and protecting the people of our great state.
“If you had asked me 24 years ago what I liked about being a trooper, I would have said arresting DUIs and chasing speeders,” says Rapich. “Today, if you asked me that question I’d say I enjoy working with the most dedicated, professional, service-oriented people in the state, people who are here doing this for the right reasons and to do the right thing.”
That was certainly the perception Rapich had of the highway patrol when he was growing up in Green River. He loved the teamwork and the pride it had in its organization and, as he says, “being part of something bigger than themselves.” His father was a decorated trooper who was involved in stolen vehicle enforcement, helped organize the UHP’s criminal interdiction program (he even co-wrote the manual for it) and was appointed commander of Utah Police Corps, a law enforcement academy.
“Even at a young age, it was obvious to me that he loved what he did,” says Michael. “He wore the uniform with pride.”
When he graduated from high school, Rapich wasn’t old enough to join the UHP so he joined the Coast Guard and served two years of active duty (six years in the Reserves). He was the coxswain (the driver) for a 44-foot lifeboat based in Florence, Oregon, which required him to venture out into heavy surf to rescue or tow boats that were broken down or taking on water.
He returned to Utah and joined the UHP, spending those first seven years patrolling the state’s highways, including four years in which he was based in Green River, where his section chief was his father. They found themselves working together at times, including a high-speed chase and a backcountry manhunt on mules.
“It was gratifying, but also it made me apprehensive to have him right there dealing with some of the things we were involved in,” says Steven. “I was still a dad.”
“I have had an incredibly rewarding career with the UHP, and it was a great opportunity to be able to share much of that with my father,” says Michael Rapich. “He is probably one of the few people who may love the UHP more than I do.”
Either by design or fate, Rapich seemed to be groomed to lead the UHP. In 1999, he was promoted to sergeant and moved into administration as a training specialist to mentor officers. Shortly after 9/11, he was named deputy commander of the newly formed homeland security force tasked with preparing for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Following the Olympics, he was promoted to section commander in Salt Lake County and then in Tooele, and in 2007 he was named chief of the state Bureau of Investigation, which was more focused on detective work that traditional highway patrol duty. In 2010, Fuhr made him assistant superintendent, which paved the way for his recent promotion to the top job.
“Colonel Fuhr did this job better than anyone I saw before him,” says Rapich. “It’s intimidating to follow him.”
Rapich knows where he can find support and advice if he needs it. He commutes from his home in Tooele, and on the way he meets his father at a convenience store for a light breakfast and a quick visit. His father is no longer a trooper, but he’s still got a stake in the UHP.
“He has no compunction at all about telling me what we need to be doing,” he says with a laugh.
Email: drob@deseretnews.com