Wyoming’s costly police brutality settlements demonstrate need for reform

My father, James Drake, was in law enforcement for four decades. He served as a military policeman and investigator and eventually retired as police chief at the Cheyenne VA Medical Center.

Opinion

One day Dad told me about an emergency at the hospital. A patient threatened a nurse and refused to let her go. Dad was an imposing 6-foot-3, but this guy was bigger and very angry.

Hospital staff prepared for the worst and had a restraint chair ready if my Dad could not control him. But my father convinced him to release the nurse, and talked to him alone for a long time. He ended up walking the much calmer patient back to his room.

Contrast that encounter with one from just four years ago that’s recently back in the news.

A police officer responding to a noise complaint at a Casper apartment in January 2020 was recorded by his body cam telling his partner, “It’s not that loud.”

Things got sideways in a hurry though after the officers entered the home to find a small sedate gathering of young adults. Within minutes, an officer assaulted a nonthreatening young woman and violated her civil rights. The resulting judgment against the cop cost Wyoming $130,000 in public funds, and Casper’s insurer another $25,000.

How can a relatively minor situation like this escalate to this extreme? There are many reasons, but lack of adequate police training is a known and often cited problem in Wyoming.

The Casper case stands out because the department at least held the officer, Michael Quirin, partly accountable. Hired 18 months earlier, he was suspended for a week without pay and ordered to do more training, the Casper Star Tribune reported .

Casper police ruled Quirin’s actions — which in my view were egregious and merited punishment — were legal but didn’t meet the department’s high standards.

According to a video reviewed independently by WyoFile , the officer ordered everyone to show identification. Party guest Adrianah Rodriguez immediately produced hers and said, “I know my rights.” The officer asked whether she’d like to be quiet or be in custody; she withdrew her ID and told Quirin, “No, I would not like to be in custody.”

Seconds later, Quirin slammed the much smaller Rodriguez to the floor and kneeled on her neck. Chaos ensued, with witnesses yelling at Quirin to get off of her. Rodriguez couldn’t move and was crying, but the officer repeatedly yelled at her to stop resisting.

The video showed Quirin’s partner intervened, and Rodriguez was lifted upright, put in handcuffs and arrested. Two men were arrested for marijuana possession, but the district attorney’s office dropped all charges against the three.

Quirin denied liability in the judgment against him. He remains on the Casper force.

This was not an isolated incident of police misconduct. Wyoming’s State Self-Insurance Program’s annual report stated nearly $3.4 million was paid for 86 settlements plus attorney fees between FY 2019 and 2023.

The Casper incident highlights issues lawmakers must address. Under Wyoming law, the public does not have guaranteed access to body camera footage. Police get to decide for themselves whether or not to make that record of their conduct available to those they’re sworn to protect and serve. The Casper PD took advantage of Wyoming’s weak public records act and declined the Casper Star-Tribune’s requests for the video.

What’s the point of officers wearing the equipment if what’s captured is blocked from independent review?

Many of Quirin’s claims were disproven by the video when it was finally turned over to the plaintiff’s attorney, who shared it with the media.

Casper’s not the only community struggling with law enforcement accountability. Albany and Campbell counties also have much work to do.

In 2018, Robert Ramirez of Laramie was unarmed and living with a mental illness when then-Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Colling stopped him for a minor traffic violation. Ramirez was shot twice in the back by Colling, who had no charges filed against him. He previously was cleared of two other fatal shootings while serving as a Las Vegas policeman.

Albany County paid Ramirez’s mother, Deb Hinkel, $1.2 million to settle her wrongful death lawsuit. Though the case never went to trial, Hinkel alleged the county altered Colling’s body cam footage to delete damning scenes, a charge the agency has denied. As part of the settlement, a federal judge found no legal basis for evidence tampering.

Colling resigned from the county sheriff’s office. A public request to decertify him so Colling can never again work in Wyoming law enforcement has been delayed several times. The Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission couldn’t legally obtain Colling’s Albany County personnel records, even after the Legislature revised the law so such documents can be accessed. Unbelievably, the county is refusing to comply.

Last month a new video was released documenting Campbell County Detention Center inmate Kenneth Durrah’s death in 2022. It raised questions about the jail staff’s restraint practices for persons in their custody.

Guards claimed Durrah ingested a bag of suspected methamphetamine, but the image isn’t clear in the video and no drugs were taken into evidence. Four guards pinned him face-down on a cell floor for about five minutes, with one guard kneeling on the inmate’s head and hip while another kneeled on his back. Two others restrained his legs.

Durrah’s complaints that he couldn’t breathe were ignored. The video shows staff cut off his jumpsuit and strapped him naked to a restraint chair. Durrah was left alone, pleading for help, and found unresponsive 35-40 minutes later. He was pronounced dead at a Gillette hospital soon after.

No one should ever die like this. Period. How much will Wyoming citizens eventually pay if a lawsuit goes to court or is settled?

Multiple experts who reviewed the footage told WyoFile that the time Durrah was face-down with guards’ weight on his back likely contributed to his death.

A special prosecutor decided not to press charges. No jail policies were changed.

Durrah’s brother, Joshua, told the Gillette News Record and WyoFile he learned about the prosecutor’s decision on the news, even though he tried to contact him.

“I just think this whole thing was handled unprofessionally, it wasn’t handled with any decency,” Joshua Durrah said. “It feels like almost everybody is covering up something for each other and that there’s no true justice being sought for the death of my brother.”

Legislators should be asking the same questions about the lack of justice for victims and families, and sponsor much-needed police reform measures.

I realize that’s not likely to happen here under the new leadership of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and its Senate allies. But if these officials say they champion smaller government and reduced spending, shouldn’t they be vocal advocates for well-trained cops who exercise restraint and respect the U.S. Constitution? Civil rights violations are, after all, government overreach that cost taxpayers money.

If law enforcement presents lawmakers with evidence that officers need more training, it’s an opportunity to improve police performance and practices, even if it costs more. The average U.S. police academy offers 21 weeks of training, but the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy’s course is only 12 weeks.

I think people, whether right, center or left on the political spectrum, believe the state shouldn’t pinch pennies on public safety.

Casper police sergeant Jake Bigelow testified at a recent Joint Judiciary Committee meeting that one reason for many settlements is the lack of adequate police training on search and seizure and Fourth Amendment issues.

Bigelow said officers must have 10 hours of continued training annually, but even many 20-year police veterans have never taken additional search and seizure training.

In my 40-plus years as a journalist, I’ve seen first-hand many examples of exemplary law enforcement work. But there are reforms I recommend, especially more training so Wyoming spends less on police settlements and reduces injuries and deaths for all at risk.

Years ago, after dad’s big showdown at the VA, I asked him how he’d managed to deescalate such a dicey situation. His answer contained exactly what was missing in the outrageous Wyoming cases I cited above. “I showed him respect, like I would anyone,” he replied. “No one should be treated like an animal.” He called it the best lesson he’d learned on the job.

Can we all get to that point in our lives? I know my father thought we could. In his memory, so do I.

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