Albany County Sheriff's Office (Wyoming)

Last updated

Albany County Sheriff's Office
Agency overview
Preceding agency
  • Municipal Police
Employees54
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionAlbany County, Wyoming, U.S.
Population38950
General nature
Operational structure
Sworn members46
Agency executive
Website
Albany County Sheriff's Office

The Albany County Sheriff's Office is a local police agency in Albany County, Wyoming, United States. It consists of 46 sworn law enforcement officers and 8 civilian support personnel. [1] As of 2022 the sheriff is Aaron Appelhans, the first African-American to serve as sheriff in Wyoming. [2]

Contents

Controversy

In 2021, the New York Times described the department as "troubled" and plagued by "allegations of nepotism, selective enforcement and excessive force". [2]

In 2018, an unarmed man, Robbie Ramirez, was shot and killed by deputy Derek Colling. This was the third time in Colling's career he had shot and killed someone. [3] The George Floyd protests in Laramie in partnership with a grassroots organization Albany County for Proper Policing (ACOPP), called attention to Collin's 2018 killing of Ramirez. [4] Colling resigned in 2021. [3] Ultimately, Ramirez's family successfully sued Colling for wrongful death. [5] Sheriff Dave O’Malley resigned in 2020 amid a lawsuit over the shooting. [2]

Reform

After O'Malley's resignation, Appelhans was appointed his replacement. [2] [6] State Representative Cyrus Western replied to a post on Twitter about Appelhans's appointment with an animated GIF from the film Blazing Saddles ; [7] after receiving criticism for the tweet, Western deleted the tweet, issued a public apology, and called Appelhans to apologize. [8] Appelhans spoke of his goal of diversifying the department, of which he was the only Black officer at the time. [2] In 2021, Appelhans fired a deputy who was accused of harassing a Black subordinate until the subordinate quit. [9] [10]

Rank structure

TitleInsignia
Sheriff
US-O9 insignia.svg
Undersheriff
US-O8 insignia.svg
Sergeant
Army-USA-OR-05 (Army greens).svg
Corporal
Army-USA-OR-04a (Army greens).svg
Deputy

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sheriff | Albany County, WY". www.co.albany.wy.us. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Watkins, Ali (March 22, 2021). "Meet Wyoming's New Black Sheriff, the First in State History". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Beck, Bob (June 3, 2021). "Controversial Albany County Sheriff's Corporal Resigns". Wyoming Public Media. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ Graham, Andrew (July 21, 2020). "Anatomy of a protest: How a Laramie march became a movement". WyoFile. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  5. ↑ McFarland, Clair (January 19, 2024). "Albany County Paid $1.2 Million To Family Of Man Killed By Deputy". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  6. ↑ Newman, Eve (November 25, 2020). "Sheriff O'Malley retired Monday". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Western apologizes for Twitter remarks regarding new Albany County sheriff". The Sheridan Press. December 16, 2020. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. ↑ Reynolds, Nick (December 16, 2020). "Wyoming lawmaker apologizes for tweet about Wyoming's first Black sheriff". Casper Star-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  9. ↑ Gruver, Mead (January 24, 2022). "Lawsuit reveals how Wyoming's first Black sheriff fired deputy accused of racism". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  10. ↑ Gruver, Mead (January 25, 2022). "Wyoming's first Black sheriff fired White deputy over alleged racism, lawsuit says". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
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