Jury Decides No Indictment of Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy
An Albany County Sheriff's Deputy will not be indicted on criminal charges for the death of Laramie resident Robbie Ramirez.
The decision to not charge Corporal Derek Colling with involuntary manslaughter was announced Thursday after a grand jury found the use of deadly force justifiable.
Albany County and Prosecuting Attorney Peggy Trent requested the use of a grand jury to hear the evidence. It is the first time a grand jury has been convened in Wyoming for an officer-involved shooting.
Evidence collected by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation was presented to the jury by Trent over the course of two days and included crime scene photos, footage from Colling's body and patrol car cameras, and audio recordings of radio traffic.
The jury was also shown toxicology reports, autopsy photographs, an audio interview with Colling, and reports on the use of force from a non-lethal defense organization and a law group out of Connecticut.
Trent said in a release that convening a grand jury for this matter was the most appropriate course of action because grand jury proceedings allow citizens to determine whether actions by law enforcement are within Albany County Sheriff’s Office policy and training guidelines, and meet with national use of force training standards.
Trent felt the process provided a "means for accountability of law enforcement agencies and officers to ensure local policies and national standards are adhered to when deadly force is used."
Colling fatally shot Ramirez in a Nov. 4 altercation in Laramie. He has since been on administrative leave.
Colling was fired from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department after shooting and killing a teenager in 2009 and assaulting a man who was filming police in 2011.