BYU to appeal state decertification of its police department

Brigham Young University says it’ll appeal a state agency’s decision to decertify the police department of the university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint because of how allegations of alleged misconduct were handled.

The state Department of Public Safety told BYU in a letter Monday that it would decertify the BYU Police Department effective Sept. 1 because it failed to conduct an internal investigation into alleged misconduct by an officer or comply with a subpoena for information on the matter.

The university said Tuesday in a statement that it disputes the state’s findings and believes the police department handled this properly.

The state’s letter said it delayed the decertification until Sept. 1 to give BYU time to arrange for a city or agency to provide law enforcement services on the campus.