Sam LaSala

Rockhurst Director of Campus Security David Loar in his office. This is Loar’s first year at the Rock after a 27-year career with the Kansas City Police Dept.

From patrolling the streets of Kansas City to walking the hallways of Rockhurst. David Loar, the school’s new Director of Campus Security, brings almost three decades of law enforcement experience to the Rock. He serves in a position that had not existed before.

Loar began his career with the Kansas City Police Department when he was 18 years old. He worked his way up over the next 27 years, serving as a bicycle and ATV officer, mounted patrol officer, and an Internal Affairs Detective. His final assignment with KCPD was as a captain for the North Patrol Division. He retired from the department June 12, and began at Rockhurst soon thereafter.

“I felt like Rockhurst was a really good fit for me, because I’ve got a background in school safety, and I have a lot of experience working with the youth,” said Loar.

During his time with KCPD, Loar worked closely with the North Kansas City School District and the Clay County School Resource Deputies. He supervised an Impact Squad, which is a proactive unit that helps investigate and arrest criminals. His team had a strong emphasis on school safety. He is also an active shooter instructor and helped train many employees in North Kansas City schools.

Before Loar was hired, Rockhurst partnered with Titan Protection to keep the perimeter of the campus secure during regular school hours. However, more than a year ago, Rockhurst began searching for a director of campus security to help increase overall safety. Loar’s experience made him an ideal fit.

“Mr. Loar’s 27 years with the Kansas City Police Department, with a spotless discipline record, a diverse treasury of experiences including with school protection, and an honorable retirement at the rank of captain, placed him head and shoulders above the other finalists,” said principal Father Vincent Giacabazi. “He’s also just a heck of a nice guy.”

Loar has many responsibilities here at Rockhurst. His main job is to walk around and keep the school safe by managing accidents in the parking lot, providing training for staff members and monitoring the security cameras. His duties extend beyond the Greenlease Campus to the school’s swimming facility, the Goppert RockPlex, as well.

“Keeping students and teachers and even property safe is the most important thing I do around here,” said Loar.

Loar’s time in law enforcement included many honors, though none was more high-profile than when he was honored as a “Top Cop” at the White House in 2009. He received this award for his efforts to help a homeless man get back on his feet. Loar and his partner helped the 70-year-old former trucker get his own apartment after living on the streets for seven years.

Towards the end of his career, Loar did get caught up in a bit of controversy, though. Last year, he was the subject of an investigation after giving a ride-along to a politician running for office. Ride-alongs are very common, and the KCPD makes them available to any member of the community.

In this case, however, footage captured while the politician was with Loar was used in a social media video. In that video, you could see a KCPD vehicle, which led to criticism that it was politicizing the department.

A special prosecutor was appointed to investigate if Loar violated state law that prohibits political activity while on the job. During this time, Loar was placed on paid leave.

The investigation wound up concluding that Loar followed all proper protocols, which led to him being cleared of any wrongdoing.

The investigation did come up in the interview process here at Rockhurst.

“The decision of the hiring committee to select Mr. Loar was unanimous, and each of us was and remains fully aware that Mr. Loar was totally exonerated of the false accusations made against him,” said Giacabzi. “We even asked him about those details in our interview.”

After spending all of his adult life on a police force, Loar is still adjusting to his new role.

“It’s obviously a lot different than before, and I’m still getting used to it, but my main job is still very similar to before: keeping people safe.”