Police

The Teton County Communications Center has less than half of the staff it needs to answer emergency calls. The County Sheriff is asking the county commissioners to increase the salary of dispatchers in an effort to address the shortage.

State lawmakers and police are looking for new solutions to a loophole that has long allowed non-Native people some degree of immunity from law enforcement on the Wind River Reservation.

Monday marked a year since Albany County Sheriff's Deputy Derek Colling shot and killed Robbie Ramirez, an unarmed man with mental illness. The police accountability group which formed after Ramirez's death is still seeking action from county officials and hosted a rally on the courthouse steps Nov. 4.

Two days after a police officer shot and killed 58-year-old Anderson Antelope in front of a Walmart store in Riverton, Fremont County Coroner Mark Stratmoen announced that he would convene a public inquest.

Members of the Northern Arapaho community held a candlelight vigil last night for Anderson "Andy" Antelope, the 58-year-old man shot and killed by law enforcement in front of a Walmart store in Riverton on Saturday, September 21.

The victim of Saturday's police shooting in Riverton attacked an officer with a knife before he was shot and killed, according to the Fremont County Attorney's Office. County Prosecutor Pat Lebrun wrote in a statement released just before 2:00 p.m. on Monday that an officer was trying to arrest the victim.

Tribal leaders say that a citizen of the Northern Arapaho Tribe was shot and killed by law enforcement in Riverton on Saturday.

Wyoming's Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) finally released its report on the officer involved shooting of a Laramie man last November.

All certified peace officers in Wyoming are required to do 40 hours of continuing education every two years. The focus of the training to fulfill that requirement has been left up to local sheriffs and chiefs of police, until last year when Wyoming Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission (POST) instituted a new rule.

The Albany County Commissioners heard public comments Tuesday regarding an officer-involved shooting that occurred November 4, 2018. To accommodate the volume of people who showed up to speak on the issue, the Commissioners moved their meeting to a larger room.

A Laramie group has released an autopsy report that says Albany County Sheriff's Corporal Derek Colling shot unarmed Robbie Ramirez three times, including two shots to the back. The incident occurred on November 4, 2018.

Earlier this month a grand jury found that Albany County Sheriff's Officer Derek Colling was justified in his use of force. Colling shot Laramie resident Robbie Ramirez in November. The grand jury's decision concluded a criminal investigation, but the Albany County Sheriff's office has yet to announce whether Officer Colling will keep his job. He is currently on administrative leave.

Last week a grand jury decided not to indict Albany County Sheriff's officer Derek Colling for shooting 39-year-old Laramie resident Robbie Ramirez in November. On Monday, Albany County Attorney Peggy Trent announced her intent to take a look at why this incident happened and if it could have been avoided.

The Albany County Sheriff's Department released body cam and dash cam footage from Corporal Derek Colling, who fatally shot 39-year-old Laramie resident Robert Ramirez following a traffic stop earlier this month. The body cam footage cuts off before Colling fired the fatal shots.

On Saturday afternoon a vigil for Robbie Ramirez was held at the Laramie Skatepark. The 39-year-old Laramie resident was shot and killed a week ago by Albany County Sheriff's Deputy Derek Colling following a traffic stop.

Tuesday morning, Casper police shot and killed a man after he led police on a high-speed chase and threatened multiple people with a gun. This is the third shooting involving Casper police officers this year.

The Cheyenne Police Department would like to equip its officers with body cameras, and is asking the Cheyenne City Council to approve funds for 75 body cams, as well as 75 dashboard cams to replace the current ones.

Last year, the Wyoming Legislature passed a bill limiting the kind of footage from police body and dashboard cameras that can be requested and viewed by the public. The law limits that footage to incidents involving deadly force and complaints against law enforcement, or if the footage is in the interest of public safety.

Earlier this fall, the University of Wyoming sent emails to law school students with concerns about the 37-year-old man who shot at police officers in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on Sunday morning.  

Matthew Riehl was a UW Law School graduate who at one time practiced law in Wyoming, and a veteran who served in Iraq. Matthew Riehl had been posting threatening and irrational statements about law school faculty, according to UW Police Chief Mike Samp.

The City of Rawlins is facing a civil rights lawsuit after two of its police officers shot and killed a man in 2015. The suit claims the Rawlins Police Department’s decision not to discipline, retrain, or fire the officers reveals policies that tolerate excessive force.

A recently completed outside review of the Casper Police Department reveals morale is up. That’s following controversy that began last year when 30 women accused the department of mishandling their sexual assault cases.

The review, completed by the Center for Public Safety Management, makes 75 specific recommendations for changes at the Casper Police Department, including updating facilities and filling vacancies.
It also recommends more training for officers dealing with crimes like sexual assault, to ensure investigations are not compromised by inexperience.

Casper City Manager V.H. McDonald has announced he will retire from the position on June 1. 

McDonald’s decision to retire follows the Casper City Council's request on Tuesday for an investigation into leadership at the Casper Police Department and complaints that city management neglected to address problems in that department.  

A press release from the City of Casper says McDonald was hired in November of 2015.