But it was no joke - Flowers, Utah's commissioner of the Department of Public Safety for the past five years, is resigning to lead the Denver office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

His replacement is the superintendent of the Highway Patrol, Col. Scott Duncan. The changes, effective today, were announced Monday at a news conference with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. in Salt Lake City.

Flowers' time as the top police officer in Utah may be best remembered for the security he oversaw during the 2002 Winter Olympics. A force created with officers drawn from across the state and country kept thousands of athletes and spectators safe. Less than five months earlier, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks raised questions about whether the Games should go on at all.

"It was like going zero to 60 just literally overnight," said Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds, who during the Olympics was the venue commander at Park City Mountain Resort.

"One of the big attributes Mr. Flowers has is he's an exceptional communicator," Edmunds added. "Communicating and building bridges with the federal government was a big part of [security planning at the Olym- pics.]"

More recently, Flowers has drawn attention for his commute - from his home in the southwest Utah community of Santa Clara to the Department of Public Safety headquarters in Taylorsville - in a state car fueled with taxpayer-bought gasoline.

Flowers, 52, said Monday his first question to FEMA was whether he could live in St. George.

"They just giggled and said, 'Probably not,' " Flowers said.

Also, in a move that is legal but has been criticized by the Utah Taxpayers Association, Flowers officially retired in May 2005, then was immediately rehired. The tactic allowed Flowers to collect both his annual salary and his retirement benefits, and increased his yearly earnings from $103,000 to $157,000.

At FEMA, Flowers will be in charge of the federal government's disaster preparedness and response in Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. Directors of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA appointed him and he does not need confirmation from the U.S. Senate.

FEMA gained infamy for what critics said was a slow response during Hurricane Katrina, but Flowers on Monday said FEMA is better organized than people realize and the agency needs to promote its role to the public.

"I think you've got to be careful about judging all of FEMA on what happened in the South," Flowers said.

During Flowers' tenure, Utah law enforcement officials have complained public safety departments, like the crime lab and the state police academy, have been underfunded by the Legislature, creating backlogs of evidence to be tested and cadets to be trained. About 60 UHP troopers retired last year to take advantage of a retirement benefit the Legislature was eliminating. The patrol is still trying to replace them.

Duncan has lead UHP as Utah's roadways have seen vehicle traffic spike with its population. UHP took the unusual step this year of operating its own police academy to replace those troopers who retired.

And some officers have had their own trouble with the law.

A trooper has been charged with felony assault for shooting an unarmed suspect in the back in a March traffic stop. In June, the lieutenant in charge of UHP's drunken driving enforcement was charged with drunken driving.

And last month a federal judge dismissed drug evidence seized during a traffic stop because he deemed not credible a trooper's testimony about the evidence.

Duncan has said the problems are isolated and none has spurred any policy changes. On Monday, Duncan said troopers need to engage the public and encourage obedience to the law.

ncarlisle@sltrib.com

The Flowers file

Robert Flowers was St. George's police chief in 2001 when then-Gov. Mike Leavitt appointed him to direct the Department of Public Safety and lead Olympic security efforts. Armed with a $310 million security budget, officers from local, state and federal law enforcement, and with the assistance of the U.S. military, his team held Salt Lake City to a lower crime rate than usual for that time of year. The only major incident was a confrontation between spectators and police on the second-to-last night near a popular Olympic nightspot, Bud World at Gallivan Plaza. Twenty people were arrested.

Flowers is from Riverside, Calif., and came to Utah to attend Brigham Young University. His law enforcement career began in 1977 when he joined the Tooele Police Department.

The Duncan file

Scott Duncan, 54, a Springville native and the son of a former trooper, joined UHP in 1976 and has been its commander for about six years.

Accident and death rates in Utah are in a 10-year declining trend, and UHP has claimed to have a hand in that success. But recently, the patrol has had discipline problems with troopers being charged with crimes or finding themselves in other embarrassing episodes.