2022 Review: Police accountability
The Laramie Reporter takes a look at the past year, reflecting on the good, the bad and the ugly. Part one of three.
Local law enforcement agencies faced scrutiny and weathered shake-ups throughout 2022. While efforts to establish a civilian oversight board at the city level stalled out, the Laramie Police Department saw the decertification of a former officer, the outing of one of its own as a former Oath Keeper, and the hiring of a new chief.
The county learned of three deaths — two suicides and one overdose — that occurred at the Albany County Detention Center during a seven-month span. The sheriff won his first popular election, becoming the first Black man in Wyoming history to be elected sheriff. And while a settlement was reached in one federal civil rights lawsuit brought against the sheriff’s office, another federal civil rights lawsuit is just beginning.
Civilian oversight board rejected
A long-standing debate in Albany County about the role of police came to a head this year, as the debate surrounding civilian oversight revealed deep divisions and conflicting assumptions.
In 2021, the Laramie City Council established a temporary police-community working group to consider and propose changes that might make law enforcement more helpful, more transparent or more accountable. The working group gave the council its recommendations in February; those recommendations included implementing a co-response model for mental health calls for service, improving public relations, establishing an alternative anonymous complaint system and looking into a civilian oversight board.
The council advanced several of these proposals — but civilian oversight was a sticking point, and highly controversial. One of the working group’s co-chairs told councilors that some group members had taken part in the meetings to “obstruct” the work of the group. She said they joined with the specific intention of stopping a civilian oversight board. (Members of law enforcement made up a third of the working group.)
The council rejected the civilian oversight board proposal in spectacular fashion. At first, the oversight measure appeared to pass on a tight 5-4 vote. But less than an hour later, Councilor Pat Gabriel called for a revote, flipped his own vote from “yes” to “no,” and helped crush the proposal. A later investigation by the Laramie Reporter showed Councilor Fred Schmechel communicated privately with Gabriel between the votes — even as the virtual, but public, meeting continued — and convinced him to flip his vote.
Domestic abuser decertified
Throughout the civilian oversight debate, Chief Dale Stalder maintained his department does not need an oversight board. Stalder has, in the past, fired badly behaving officers. In 2020, he fired Mike Morrow, an officer then accused of domestic violence. Months after his termination, Morrow was convicted of a misdemeanor charge and following that conviction, he was decertified in early 2022 by the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission. Decertification means he can never work in Wyoming law enforcement again and he is unlikely to be hired by any law enforcement agency in the United States.
Former Oath Keeper still works for LPD
Stalder did not, however, fire Officer Jacob Bury, who was revealed to be a member of an extremist group (or to have been a member at some point in the past).
Bury’s name was on a membership log leaked by hackers and analyzed by the Anti-Defamation League. LPD was alerted to Bury’s name being on the membership log in February, but the public only found out several months later when the press started digging into the leaked log.
LPD released no public information when they learned of Bury’s involvement with the Oath Keepers. But following press coverage, LPD said Bury was only involved with the Oath Keepers “several years prior” to their extremist turn. Most commentators say that the turn came in 2014 when the group got notably more visible and more active.
But what LPD said wasn’t true. By Bury’s own admission, he was involved in 2013 or 2014 — in other words, not “several years prior” to 2014.
Bury’s admission — and LPD’s claim, which rests entirely on Bury’s admission — also contradicts the membership log itself, which lists Bury as a lifetime member who joined in August of 2016.
LPD would not say if any disciplinary action had been taken.
New chief in town
This fall, the city hired Brian Browne to take over as Laramie Police Chief, replacing the outgoing Chief Stalder. Stalder served as chief for 13 years. Browne has advocated for greater use of grappling martial arts within law enforcement as a way of reducing the use of guns and tasers.
Jailhouse deaths
There were three deaths in the Albany County Detention Center during a seven-month span that ran into 2022. The public was not told about these deaths when they occurred, only finding out when the topic was raised on the campaign trail as the sheriff who chose not to inform the public faced his first popular election.
A WyoFile investigation revealed details of those three deaths, uncovered evidence of missed warning signs, delayed response times and failures of communication. The story also explored Sheriff Aaron Appelhans’ decision not to notify the public.
A closely watched election
Appelhans won his election, defeating Republican challenger Joel Senior. It was an expensive race and one of the most hotly contested local contests. When he was appointed in late 2020, Appelhans became the first Black man to ever serve as a sheriff in Wyoming. Following his electoral victory in November, he became the first Black man ever elected to the role.
In his first two years, Appelhans has reshaped the office in several ways. Deputies are a more diverse group now, with greater numbers of women, minorities and veterans. And a pair of problematic deputies are gone.
Racism lawsuit ongoing
Some of the most infamous deputies formerly employed by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office are no longer there. In his first months on the job, Appelhans fired then-Sergeant Christian Handley — who has been accused of racist harassment in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit.
In addition to the allegations against Handley — which included flagrant, repeated use of the n-word and other slurs — the lawsuit details the “good ole boys” club that has allegedly entrenched power and privilege in the sheriff’s office and county government for decades.
A trial date has been set for next summer.
Wrongful killing lawsuit settled
Appelhans also ousted Derek Colling — who killed an unarmed man in 2018 but was never criminally charged. Appelhans has been careful to take only limited credit for this ouster, which was not an outright termination, but he touted the ouster on the campaign trail nonetheless. He even scored an endorsement from the unarmed man’s mother, Debbie Hinkel.
Hinkel reached a settlement in her own civil rights lawsuit against the sheriff’s office this summer. Details of that settlement are not known, but in a statement from her lawyer, Hinkel praised many of the changes Appelhans has made since taking office.