The Casper Police Department hosted a community panel on sexual assault Thursday night, following the complaints of over 30 women that claim law enforcement mishandled their sexual assault cases.
The panel included representatives from sexual assault related services, including the Self Help Center, the Casper Police Department's Victim Services, the Child Advocacy Project, Wyoming Medical Center, as well as District Attorney Mike Blonigen and Chief of Police Jim Wetzel who discussed how they try to help victims.
Casper resident Skyler Nelson said the event was informative, but not what she expected.
"I was definitely expecting more of a question and answer type of set-up, instead of them just describing their jobs," said Nelson.
Chief Wetzel said the next panel will offer more of a discussion.
"I want there to be participation and input because this is critical," said Wetzel. "Now we’re really talking about solutions, now we're really talking about strategies."
Christina Bolger was another Casper resident in attendance. She said she's glad there will be a follow-up event.
"I think the panel actually brought up more questions for me than what I had prior, so I have a lot more questions now, specific questions for specific people, knowing what they do, what they’re supposed to do, how they're supposed to handle every case. And there were many topics that were not addressed, that I was hoping would be addressed, but it's good to know who to go to when you want something done," said Bolger.
The upcoming panel is planned for May 18.
