Police Blotter
December 18, 2019
We handled 32 calls for service yesterday. These are the only two reports written.
19121512: On December 18, 2019 at about 12:18 a.m., Corporal Traphagan and Officer Shreve were at the Cowboy Bar doing a bar check when they were approached by a man who wanted to report he had been assaulted earlier in the evening. See, this is why we do bar checks. If you'll remember this last weekend, Sgt. Ruschill was doing a bar check at the same place and ended up having to arrest a woman for Trespassing. There is usually some poorly thought out behavior happening at the bars. Go figure. Anyway, the man reported that about 40 minutes prior a man had head-butted him. He reported the suspect headbutted him because he was defending a young lady's honor after the man had made an inappropriate comment to her. Imagine trying to sort all this out in a busy bar, with intoxicated people all around you. The bar crowd doesn't always appreciate our presence and officers have to keep both eyes open. We are usually in pairs so we can watch each other's back. The suspect was easy enough to find, since he was still in the building and the victim was able to point him out. He denied the allegations against him, but there was enough evidence for Corporal Traphagan to write him a ticket and send him on his way. Are you wondering why we didn't arrest the man when we do so for other similar offenses? The answer is, "Because it's the law." A Wyoming peace officer can only make an arrest for warrants, felonies, and misdemeanors that happen while we're watching. There are some exceptions, but those are the general rules were bound by. In this case, Corporal Traphagan didn't see the man headbutt the victim, so we was obligated to write the man a ticket.
19121551: On December 18, 2019, at about 11:31 a.m., Officer Raab, also known as MC Raabit, responded to a Harassment report. You should know that Harassment isn't necessarily a crime, but it can evolve into one if not addressed early on. It's important to get both sides of the issue before attempting to take any action. Officer Raab knows this and is still trying to get all the information he needs to finish the report. While there will likely not be any charges, the report will assist the victim in getting an order of protection from the court. That's where Victim Services will pick things up. Getting an order of protection can be a confusing and intimidating process if you've never been through it before and our ladies at Victim Services, (Tracey, Natalie, and Angie) are there to walk victims through the process. Thank you, ladies.
Happy Thursday, Jackson.