Stages of the use of force

The Sheridan Police Department appeared on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program to discuss the use of force by the department over the last calendar year. 

SPD Lieutenant James Hill informed listeners on the stages of use of force that begin with officers simply being present while in uniform. 

According to SPD Captain Tom Ringley, each use of force by the SPD is investigated and reviewed. The drawing of a firearm is reviewed internally. Officer involved shootings or an incident resulting in serious bodily injury that involves an officer may result in a request for an outside agency to investigate, such as the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office or the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. All intermediate uses of force and above are investigated by the SPD. 

Ringley told listeners the use of force is governed by Wyoming State statute. Should changes in that statute be made by lawmakers, officers are given new training based on those changes and current statute is reviewed.

Investigation by other law enforcement agencies is a technique to mitigate and remove any possible bias by investigators.