Behind the bills: Proposed laws make some police records more accessible, others less so
House Bill 31 would clarify that the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission can access personnel files. Senate File 35 would lock down prison investigation records.
Two bills before the Wyoming Legislature this year could change law enforcement-related exemptions in the Wyoming Public Records Act.
Both bills have been endorsed by the Joint Judiciary Committee, giving them a better chance of success in the 2024 Budget Session. But they’ll still face an uphill battle, as non-budget bills in a budget year need a two-thirds vote to even be introduced.
However, if they both pass, it could soon be easier for the state’s certifying commission to access police personnel records — and more difficult for members of the public to access documents related to prison investigations.
The session begins Feb. 12.
Granting POST access to police personnel files
The Wyoming Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission is responsible for certifying and decertifying law enforcement officers across the state — either marking them fit for duty, or marking them unfit and taking away their ability to work in such roles.
POST has recently decertified local officers, including former Albany County Sheriff’s Sergeant Christian Handley in 2021 and former Laramie Police Department Officer Mike Morrow in 2022.
But both of those men were explicitly fired and referred to POST for possible decertification by their respective bosses.
POST has had a significantly more difficult time carrying out a decertification investigation against Derek Colling, the former sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man in 2018. That shooting — the third killing Colling was a part of as a uniformed officer — sparked a movement for police transparency and accountability. But Colling was not fired. Nor was he charged with a crime, as Morrow was.
So POST requested his personnel records, with the stated goal of determining whether he was appropriately cleared for duty or not. Colling, and the sheriff’s office, fought the release of those records in court, where they prevailed. To this day, POST cannot access Colling’s personnel records despite being the government body responsible for certifying and decertifying peace officers.
House Bill 31 would change that.
The bill would make it clear in state law that POST has a right to those records — when requested and only for purposes of determining fitness for duty.
Currently, the Wyoming Public Records Act exempts government personnel records, including police personnel records, from disclosure. That means an average person, or even a member of the media, cannot request an officer’s psych evaluation or other record.
The only people allowed to view such records are the officer’s supervisors. So, for example, the Albany County Sheriff would have no difficulty pulling up Colling’s personnel records.
But POST is not the officer’s supervisor. It’s a separate government commission tasked with oversight of the police. HB31 would clarify that POST, in particular, is also allowed to view police personnel records.
Colling’s certification expired in the fall and was not renewed. Without a decertification, however, he is free to pursue jobs in law enforcement both in Wyoming and beyond.
The bill was endorsed by the Joint Judiciary Committee in November with a unanimous vote.
Denying access to DOC investigations
If House Bill 31 represents a small move toward greater transparency, Senate File 35 represents the opposite.
By and large, the Wyoming Public Records Act makes it easier for citizens and journalists to access the documents generated by their government. But the act also outlines exceptions.
One such exception are the police personnel records highlighted above. Another exception are police investigation materials.
Records of investigations conducted by police, deputies, county attorneys, city attorneys, attorney general, and even the state auditor are protected if their disclosure would be “contrary to the public interest,” as determined by the relevant custodian.
Senate File 35 would add another group of law enforcement professionals to that list: “the department of corrections investigation services unit.”
If passed, SF35 would lock up any investigation files conducted in the Wyoming State Penitentiary, other prison facilities around the state, or through the probation and parole offices that exist in nearly every county — so long as the release of those files was deemed “contrary to the public interest.”
The bill was endorsed by the Joint Judiciary Committee in September by a vote of 9-4.