Friends, family and fellow police are mourning the death of the police chief in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy.
William “Bill” O’Neal died suddenly on Sunday afternoon, department officials said in a statement that. He was with the department for more than 20 years before being named chief in 2018.
Officials did not immediately release how he died, but the Deseret News reports he died of natural causes.
The 48-year-old was one of three Sandy officers who found Elizabeth Smart walking along on the street in 2003 with Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, nine months after the girl was kidnapped from her bedroom, the newspaper reported.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Jess Anderson called O’Neal a “tremendous example of a leader in law enforcement.”
O’Neal rose through the ranks and was named chief after his predecessor was fired amid allegations he had touched female city employees in appropriately. Kevin Thacker said he was a “hugger” but denied inappropriate behavior.
Deputy chief Greg Severson will become the interim chief following O’Neal’s death.
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