Cory Lyman, Ketchum police chief for the past five years, has resigned. He is leaving to accept what he called a "high-profile position" in Utah.
Lyman's last day of work in Ketchum will be Friday, Oct. 17.
As of press time he had not disclosed his new job title. One law enforcement job in Utah currently accepting applications is for undersheriff of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, but a spokesperson for that office said neither Lyman nor anyone else had interviewed for the position.
"This is an offer I could not refuse," Lyman stated in a press release. "The job presents a huge scope of responsibility in a large metropolitan area, and it is a major promotion."
Lyman also pointed out in his announcement that his resignation "has nothing to do with the current political situation in the city, and I have had a good working relationship with Mayor Randy Hall and others."
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Ketchum, getting to know the great people here, both in the department and within the community," he stated.
Hall said he would be sorry to see Lyman go.
"He's done a great job for the city of Ketchum," Hall said. "That was evident with his leadership and expertise during the Castle Rock Fire."
Hall, who was not at the City Council meeting when Lyman submitted his resignation, said a likely course of action would be to elevate Assistant Police Chief Mike McNeil to an interim chief's position while the city conducted a search for a new permanent chief. All those actions, Hall said, would be discussed before the City Council.
Lyman, whose annual salary is $110,380, came to Ketchum in 2003 from Salt Lake City, where he had been a captain with the Salt Lake City Police Department. He replaced former Ketchum Police Chief Cal Nevland, who retired.
Lyman's time in Utah had its news-making incidents. In June 2002 he was thrust into the national spotlight when he was put in charge of investigating the high-profile kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart. Four months after the kidnapping, Elizabeth's 9-year-old sister, who was in the bedroom when Elizabeth was abducted, gave her parents a description of the man she believed was the kidnapper, a transient who had done yardwork for the family. The family had a sketch made and gave it and the information to the police, but Lyman did not make it public and later said he did not take it seriously enough and feared wasting time on false leads. In the first month after the kidnapping more than 10,000 tips came in to the Salt Lake Police Department.
Eight months after the kidnapping, the Smart family released the sketch after appearing on the TV show "America's Most Wanted." A few days later the suspect's sister gave authorities the name of Brian David Mitchell, who, along with his wife, Wanda Barzee, were caught and indicted for the kidnapping. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Lyman expressed regret for not making the sketch public.
"Obviously it was the wrong choice," Lyman told the Times. "We didn't do anything wrong per se, but we didn't do the right thing, and I wish I could have it back."
After Smart was reunited with her family and the suspects were in jail, Lyman told the L.A. Times, "The end result is the ultimate judge."
As Ketchum police chief, Lyman accepted full responsibility for the bungling of evidence-handling procedures in the attempted homicide charge against Deborah Reimer, who had been accused of firing two shots at her former boyfriend, Bob Dryer, as he was showering on July 18, 2007 at his home in southern Ketchum. In March 2008 the case against Reimer was dismissed and she was released from jail after Blaine County Prosecutor Jim Thomas filed a motion to dismiss, citing the bungled evidence-handling procedures in the case.
Dryer indicated that he was not pleased with the dismissal.
The lead investigator in the Reimer case, Detective Ken Martinez, resigned from the Ketchum Police Department in April.
An outside audit of evidence in other Ketchum cases was conducted involving hundreds of pieces of evidence for about 50 cases, and found problems in just three of them. The errors in those cases were also procedural in nature. Lyman reported that steps have been taken at the Ketchum Police Department to prevent future evidence-handling problems.
"I think it's important to restore public trust and let the public know that it's not going to happen again," Lyman said last month.
Ketchum Police Chief Cory Lyman says he’s headed back to Utah. Photo by David N. Seelig
