The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation is reviewing a police shootout Saturday in Cheyenne that left a Laramie County sheriff’s deputy hospitalized with a gunshot wound and the suspect in an assault and robbery fatally shot.
The deputy was listed in stable condition at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center and is expected to recover, but his name, the name of the dead man, and other details have not yet been released.
Sheriff’s Captain Don Hollingshead says the last time a deputy had been shot in the Cheyenne area was in 2011 and that “it has been years” since a deputy shot a suspect. Hollinghead told The Wyoming Tribune Eagle the incident began when an Laramie County Community College student reported a robbery and assault to campus police.
College spokesperson Lisa Trimble says campus security asked the suspect, who was not a student, to leave the college grounds, then notified the sheriff’s office. A very brief and low-speed vehicle chase followed, but when the suspect pulled over, there was an exchange of gunfire that left the suspect dead and one deputy wounded.
Captain Hollingshead said Laramie County Sheriff Danny Glick reached out personally to ask the DCI to take over the investigation of the shooting, standard policy for the sheriff’s office in an officer-involved shooting.
As for the wounded deputy, Hollingshead described him as having “been with the department for quite a few years,” adding that “he is able to communicate with us” and that “he is going to be fine” because the bullet did not hit any major organs.
The deputy was able to speak with his family and with some of those who came to the hospital to show their support. Hollingshead says over a dozen officers from 3 agencies “showed up to support the deputy and his family.
A post about the shooting on the sheriff’s office Facebook page had drawn 183 comments by Sunday afternoon.