Franklin County Sheriff retiring after 40-year law enforcement career

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

The 67-year-old Preston man will finish his third term at the end of the year, and he feels the time is right to retire from a law enforcement career spanning four decades.

“I’ve been in the sheriff’s office for 40 years, and I’ve loved every minute of it,” Fryar tells EastIdahoNews.com. “This is not just an eight-hour job. You get calls all the time, day and night. At my age, I just felt it was time.”

Fryar doesn’t have any particular plans for retirement. He’s looking forward to having more time for his grandchildren. He wants to serve a church mission with his wife at some point, and has considered getting a part-time job. Outside of that, he’s playing it by ear.

Meanwhile, several candidates have filed to run in his place. Cuylor Stoker, a 19-year veteran of the Preston Police Department, won the Republican primary in May with 43% of the vote (1,399 of 3263 votes). Two independent, write-in candidates are also running — Jason Bunderson and Mike Wilson.

Fryar has no qualms about any of the candidates but feels Stoker is the best choice to replace him and is supportive of his campaign.

“I’ve worked with Cuylor for a long time, and I’ve watched him grow in law enforcement,” says Fryar. “I think he’s the best choice for sheriff.”

Career highlights and accomplishments

Fryar has been involved in a lot of the major changes at the sheriff’s office over the last 25 years. Among them are technology upgrades for dispatchers, which Fryar says has improved their ability to respond to emergencies in a professional manner. He counts that as one of his greatest accomplishments.

“Dispatch has come a long way. We’ve been able to expand our office and give deputies a better place to work,” says Fryar.

There are 10 deputies, all of which have a specific assignment, which Fryar says gives the sheriff’s office more versatility in responding to crimes or emergencies.

He cites two homicide cases in Franklin County as being particularly memorable. One of them was a domestic situation, and the other was a “relationship that went bad.” He declined to provide details, out of respect for the families involved, but he’s proud that the investigation of each case allowed them to get a conviction for the suspects.

In the process, he’s spent a lot of time with the victims and their families. It’s been rewarding for him to get to know them and help them.

“The thing I’ve loved most about being sheriff is my association with people,” he says.

‘I fell in love with law enforcement’

Fryar got his start as a reserve officer for the sheriff’s office in 1981. He was also a member of the search and rescue team. He was working as an electrician when he applied to be a full-time patrol deputy in 1986.

“Eudean Gunnell was the sheriff then. He just said, ‘The job is yours’ (without testing me),” Fryar recalls. “He threw me the keys to the car and said, ‘Call me if you need me.'”

Fryar later attended and graduated from POST Academy in Boise.

The service aspect of law enforcement and the desire to help people in tough situations is what drew Fryar to this career path.

“I fell in love with law enforcement, and I didn’t even know what I was doing until I really got into it,” Fryar says.

Over the years, he’s looked for opportunities to serve beyond what’s required. There were people who were stranded on many occasions, and he was glad to help.

“I remember several times calling my wife and saying, ‘We need to run to Salt Lake. These people are stranded, so let’s take them back home,'” Fryar says. “You felt good after doing something like that.”

For most of his career, Fryar worked under Sheriff Don Beckstead, Franklin County’s longest-serving sheriff. Fryar was his chief deputy and he’s grateful for his leadership.

Fryar chose to run for sheriff when Beckstead resigned because it felt like “the natural next step” to him.

“Sheriff Beckstead did a great job and made a lot of improvements. I had some ideas and wanted to see if I could keep things going,” Fryar says. “It worked out good.”

He’s enjoyed going to work every day for the last four decades. That excitement about the job is what’s kept him going and it was always his plan to step down if that ever changed. Recently, he’s felt a “tinge” of a shift in his attitude. He has the financial ability to retire now and he’s taking advantage of it.

Passing the torch

As he finishes out his term, Fryar is grateful to the community for giving him the opportunity to serve in this capacity. His interactions with colleagues and community members is what he’s going to miss most.

“I’m always going to love this place,” he says. “And I’ll always have an interest in what’s happening. I appreciate the county trusting me with the responsibility to lead the sheriff’s office.”

His advice to his successor is to have an open door and be available to the public.

Stoker praises Fryar for his efforts. Stoker said if he wins, his goal is to provide a more standardized definition of expectations in the sheriff’s office so that it’s “cohesive for our judicial system” and criminals can “more successfully be held accountable.”

Stoker is grateful to those who have supported him and he’s encouraging people to get out and vote on Nov. 5.

“I really hope to be able to serve Franklin County as the sheriff,” says Stoker.