Salt Lake City police Chief Chris Burbank drove up and, squinting into the TV lights, faced profanities and spittle.

Minutes earlier at police headquarters, Burbank had broken the news that the body of 5-year-old Destiny Norton - missing for eight days - was found in the basement of Craig Gregerson's apartment, a mere 50 feet from where she last was seen.

Now friends of the girl's family, searchers and the community at large furiously demanded answers. Why wasn't she found sooner?

Burbank stood alongside his officers and spoke to the masses.

"This is no way to honor Destiny's memory."

It was a defining moment for Burbank, a police chief who up until last week was virtually unknown by the citizens he is charged with protecting. His appearance that night earned the respect of law enforcement colleagues - and of those angry people in the street.

"At that point, I couldn't believe he had the audacity to show up," said Peter Brooks, a friend of the Nortons who was in the crowd that night. "But now it shocks me more, as in, 'I can't believe he actually had the guts to show up there,' and face us all and try to justify everything, knowing he did a good job and knowing that we didn't think that way and we wanted his head."

A young police chief at 40, Burbank tackled a high-profile case only four months after being named Salt Lake City's top cop.

Destiny's case revealed how Burbank - who was hired in 1991 as a street officer and ascended the ranks of the department - will lead an organization that has had its share of pressure-packed, morale-busting investigations.

He admits it was hard to stand before the July 24 gathering that teetered on the edge of a melee. But the decision to be there and defend his officers was not.

"My initial thought was I need to make sure we didn't have an incident everyone would regret - the public and the Police Department," he said. "I knew the officers and the detectives involved in this had done the right thing. As a leader, it was in essence a very simple decision for me."

One of the new chief's greatest skills is his apparent ability to keep people calm and focused, said former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson.

"His job in a crime like this is sanity control," Wilson said. "Burbank did a real good job with that."

Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard spoke with Burbank on a regular basis during the search for Destiny.

"He had his cool and demeanor and had the support of not only other agencies - the FBI and Sheriff's Office - but his troops," he said. "His officers rallied around him."

In a high-profile case like the search for Destiny, there are ample opportunities for an investigation to fall apart, said Tim Fuhrman, special agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City office.

Officers tend to impose pressure on themselves to solve a case. The media demands more information than police want to give. And sometimes there are turf wars and disagreements among agencies on how to approach an investigation.

None of that happened, FuhrÂman said.

"He was open to all of the suggestions from subordinates; made decisions; was accountable for those decisions, in public and private; and was on top of this thing from day one."

Burbank stepped back and let his officers work, made sure they got enough rest and ensured the smooth collaboration between local police and about 100 FBI agents and personnel who helped on the case, Fuhrman said.

"Since he's become chief, he has been open and collaborative - he's just extremely professional," he said.

Salt Lake County prosecutor Robert Stott said equally important to finding Destiny and the man charged in her kidnapping, death and sexual abuse was making sure the officers followed the law and respected the defendant's rights.

"Now that we've got the case and looked at it, I can tell you they did all of the right things," he said.

Former Police Chief Rick Dinse, who has overseen such high-pressure investigations as the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart and the murder of Lori Hacking, said it's impossible to know beforehand how a new chief will deal with the strain of an explosive case.

"Nobody knows for certain how people are going to react," he said. "There are a lot of pitfalls a young chief could make. I didn't see any of those from Chris."

Burbank is the first chief in three decades to be named from within the department.

Shortly after Destiny's body was found, Wilson said he had a chance meeting with several Salt Lake City motorcycle officers.

" 'Hey, he's one of us,' " Wilson recalled them saying. "They look at him as someone who came up within their ranks, and it makes them feel very good."

Burbank does appear as a cop's cop, agreed Frank Hatton-Ward, a former Salt Lake City police officer. But it's too early to tell if he's got the right stuff.

"He's awfully young - for a chief of a major metropolitan area, he doesn't have much experience," Hatton-Ward said. "[But] so far, he's making good decisions."

He added: "This case won't define this chief. But we'll have to wait and see if he's got the fortitude to run the department."

Destiny's case is not over, warns James Bradshaw, a Salt Lake City-based defense attorney. The police investigation and Burbank's image could change depending upon what information comes out at trial and whether Gregerson is convicted.

"It's too early to tell. Until all the facts come in, it's hard to make a judgment" on how Burbank handled the investigation, Bradshaw said. "Right now, no one knows what happened."

In the long run, Burbank's success may depend upon whether he is seen as a unifying influence in the community, like former Chief Bud Willoughby, or a divisive one, like former Chief Ruben Ortega, Wilson said.

At first blush, Burbank's penchant for inclusiveness looks to be a big plus.

"If he follows up on these elements of openness and transparency," Wilson said, "I think this guy will have a long, successful career as police chief."

rosetta@sltrib.com

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