SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) – The University of Utah announced the retirement of its Police Chief and Director of Public Safety Dale Brophy on Tuesday.

Brophy joined the University’s Department of Public Safety in 2013 as deputy chief of police and was named director and chief of police in 2015, according to a press release.

Brophy began his 25-year career in law enforcement in 1994 with the West Valley Police Department where he served as a patrol officer, detective, sergeant, and lieutenant, the release stated.

Brophy wrote in an email to the University’s Department of Public Safety, “After 25 years in Law Enforcement, I have decided to retire and pursue other opportunities. I will serve my last day as the director of public safety here at the University on October 15, 2019. This has not been an easy decision, but the timing is right. This move will open a new chapter for me and provide the department an opportunity to continue forward under new leadership.”

Officials say a national search will be conducted to fill the now vacant position.

Slain University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey mother took to Twitter to respond to the news. Her tweet reads in part: ” Brophy’s retirement is a step in the right direction,”

She then referred people to a Salt Lake Tribune article she stated gave insights about the culture of the University campus police.

“Since Lauren lived on campus, they were the only police to whom she could go,” the tweet stated.

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