Commissioner John T. Nielsen
Newly elected Governor Norman H. Bangerter selected John T. Nielsen as the new Commissioner of Public Safety in 1985. Nielsen served as chief prosecutor for the Salt Lake County attorney’s office prior to accepting this appointment. He led DPS with vision and insight for the future. He is best known to the public as the state’s spokesman during the Swapp-Singer standoff in Marion, Summit County, in January 1988. His close friends know him as John T. After serving as commissioner for four years, John T. Nielsen returned to private law practice at the close of 1988.