| Albany County Sheriff's Office | |
|---|---|
| Agency overview | |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Employees | 54 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Albany County, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Population | 38950 |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Sworn members | 46 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | |
| Albany County Sheriff's Office | |
TheAlbany County Sheriff's Office is a local police agency inAlbany County, Wyoming, United States. It consists of 46 sworn law enforcement officers and 8 civilian support personnel.[1] As of 2022[update], the sheriff is Aaron Appelhans, the firstAfrican-American to serve as sheriff in Wyoming.[2]
In 2021, theNew York Times described the department as "troubled" and plagued by "allegations ofnepotism,selective enforcement andexcessive 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 that he had shot and killed someone.[3] TheGeorge 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]
After O'Malley's resignation, Appelhans was appointed his replacement.[2][6] State RepresentativeCyrus Western replied to a post onTwitter about Appelhans's appointment with ananimated GIF from the filmBlazing 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]
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Sheriff |  |
| Undersheriff |  |
| Sergeant | .svg) |
| Corporal | .svg) |
| Deputy |