A special meeting of the Laramie City Council has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 23rd at 6pm. During the meeting City Council Members will consider recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Working Group for Police and Community.

Those recommendations include:

Recommendation One:

The City Council should implement a response model by mental health professionals for the Laramie Police Department with the ability to consult with the Albany County Mental Health Board on this endeavor. The City should support a collaborative effort with the County on mental health responses.

Recommendation Two:

The City Council should prioritize work on mental health response opportunities for the Laramie Police Department, and these efforts should involve data collection and program evaluation as allowed by law. The City Council should explore partnering with the University of Wyoming on data collection and program evaluation.

Recommendation Three:

The City Council and City Manager’s office should consult with NACOLE to investigate the creation of a Civilian Oversight Board that could function under Wyoming state statute and International City Managers Association guidelines.

Recommendation Four:

The City Council should investigate the creation of a police and community committee to serve as a volunteer group to build a more effective partnership between the Laramie Police Department and the community, specifically looking at increasing transparency of Department’s activities. Membership on the committee would include formerly incarcerated individuals and individuals from underserved or otherwise disadvantaged groups from within the city. The city council should collect data to evaluate any program instituted under this recommendation.

Recommendation Five:

The City Council should investigate the creation of a citizen academy. The City Council should collect data to evaluate any program instituted under this recommendation.

Recommendation Six:

The City Council should investigate a complaint process that allows citizens to file complaints outside of the Laramie Police Department.

Additional details about these recommendations can be found in this document:

The meeting will be held via Zoom. The link to watch the meeting is available here.