Former LPD officer decertified for domestic violence conviction

Mike Morrow was fired from the Laramie Police Department following an arrest for domestic battery. On Thursday, he was decertified, meaning he can never again work in Wyoming law enforcement.

A convicted domestic abuser and former Laramie Police Department officer was decertified Thursday by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission.

Supervising Attorney General Eric Easton said the abuser, Mike Morrow, had committed two offenses worthy of decertification: commission of a crime and undermining confidence and public trust in law enforcement.

“Clear and convincing evidence has shown that Morrow engaged in domestic violence,” Easton said. “And there was notoriety because of articles in the local newspaper that tended to undermine public confidence in law enforcement.”

POST Executive Director Chris Walsh said decertification removes an individual’s ability to work in law enforcement.

“It means that they cannot be a certified peace officer in the state of Wyoming ever again,” he said. “And it generally means that they can’t be a peace officer in the United States ever again. That is up to the individual POST commissions in different states. Most operate on a level of reciprocity, as Wyoming does, where if an officer is decertified in one state, we won’t certify them in our state.”

Morrow was arrested in April 2020. University of Wyoming Police Officers had responded to a domestic disturbance at the house Morrow shared with his wife. In interviews with police, the wife told officers that Morrow had thrown her to the ground multiple times. She had bruises, which were documented by UWPD.

Morrow told the Laramie Boomerang he was fired from the police department, but the department, at the time, declined to comment.

Walsh said it was the Laramie Police Department who lodged a complaint with the POST commission. Requests for decertification can come from agencies or private citizens. The process can also be initiated by Walsh himself, if the director learns of an incident through other channels.

Walsh said the number of complaints has been trending up. According to a POST’s most recent annual report, from 2011 to 2019, there were about 14 complaints a year. In 2020, that figure rose to 33 and in 2021, it rose again to 35.

“In 2021, 17 complaints were filed by the officers’ agency, 11 complaints were filed by citizens, 5

were initiated by the Director and 2 complaints were from other law enforcement agencies,” the report states. “Resolution on complaints can take years. There is a lengthy and thorough process that must be followed before actions can be finalized. Depending on the circumstances, it can include resolution of criminal court cases followed by the civil hearing process on an officer’s certification.”

Morrow is far from the first to be decertified following crimes committed against a household member.

“In the last five years, there’s been 21 complaints related to that,” Walsh said.