Daily Smile

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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Smile: Monday, October 23, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Smile: Monday, October 23, 2023

 Now let's all watch three dogs wearing costumes so it looks like they are little people running with scissors...

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Three of the Republicans hoping to become Wyoming’s next governor answered questions at a Tuesday forum in Cheyenne that were tailored to, and delivered in front of, a largely Christian audience.

Wyoming Family Alliance, an advocacy group that emphasizes Biblical principles and Christian ideals, also hosted U.S. House and U.S. Senate candidates at the forum.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, retired Marine Col. Brent Bien, and former state House Speaker and current Sen. Eric Barlow took the stage in the packed Metropolitan in downtown Cheyenne.

Wyoming Family Alliance president Nathan Winters posed questions about parental rights and autonomy, the role of faith in governance, education, abortion and religious freedom.

The governor’s candidates displayed minor policy and philosophical differences - yet greater disparities in tone.

Bien spoke in bold tones, pulled from his past experiences in active duty in Bagdad and elsewhere, and called for Wyomingites and every level of government to wage war on evil and usher in a revival of good.

Degenfelder, assertive in tone, pointed to what she cast as her own strong Christian faith, her studies of the Bible, her Wyoming roots and work as superintendent.

Barlow, the most conversational in tone, leaned on his work in the Legislature, spoke of his faith in personal terms as a matter of daily living, and brought an edge of pragmatism to the highly idealistic debate.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"On Abortion"}]

A rare policy difference between the three candidates surfaced when Winters asked a question about whether abortion ends a human life, and whether the candidates would support any exemptions to an abortion ban.

All three candidates agreed that abortion ends a life. Degenfelder and Bien said they wouldn’t accept any exceptions.

“I can’t accept any exception when it comes to life,” said Degenfelder, adding that a Jan. 6 decision by the Wyoming Supreme Court - proclaiming that abortion is a health care right - “has gotten it wrong.”

Bien said, “I unequivocally support zero, no exceptions, all the way across the board.”

When serving in Iraq, said Bien, a 6-year-old child had been shot in the head. He and his fellow service members were trying to get the kid to Bagdad in the middle of the night, but he bled out, said Bien. He said he was pro-life before that, but, reflecting on how dependent even 6-year-olds are on their parents, he said, “something about that made me absolutely resolute.”

Barlow said in his heart, he would not want exceptions to an abortion ban- except possibly an exception to spare the life of a mother in a medical emergency. But he warned that the Legislature gets messy when crafting laws.

“I believe in life and I voted multiple times for life in the Wyoming Legislature,” he said.

Some of the many abortion bans and restrictions Wyoming has tried to pass since 2022 contained exemptions, like abortion allowances for women who’ve suffered rape or whose unborn children are a product of incest.

That’s because the Legislature is a collaboration between numerous people, Barlow said.

“Because in the legislative process, you actually have to bring people on board. You actually have to advance policy,” said Barlow.

The governor’s role on abortion policy is limited. He or she can sign, passively enact, or veto abortion legislation. But, more pivotal right now, he or she chooses the state Attorney General - who then defends Wyoming in abortion litigation from pro-choice groups.

The state has been facing - and losing - abortion lawsuits for about four years. It is taking a fresh start now under the leadership of Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz, who has said in court that his office seeks to bring evidence that a state ban on abortion is justified. It’s a high bar given the court’s broad protections of abortion, but technically not impossible under the legal definition of those protections. To overcome those protections, the government would have to show a compelling state interest for a ban, and that its ban is narrowly tailored to meet that interest. 

Deciding Who Leads The University Of Wyoming

Winters asked about how a governor should approaching choosing trustees to lead the University of Wyoming.

Minor differences between candidates emerged here as well.

Degenfelder said UW should return to its rightful mission of being a land-grant university and feeding the Wyoming economy and job demands in useful and meaningful ways, rather than educating people for “women’s studies” and “careers that don’t exist.”

It’s time to find efficiencies in the university’s workings as well, she indicated.

She talked of her work to help rid the institution of diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, and her own time at UW and as a member of the College Republicans.

Barlow said people ask him the UW trustee question a lot while he’s on the road.

In choosing trustees he’d emphasize finding people of character, he said.

“People who actually have a heart, and an ear for Wyoming. Who will listen to the interests and needs of… Wyoming’s people,” he continued. “And who abide by the constitution” and work well with other people.

UW is so “foundational,” he added, the Wyoming Constitution carves out its existence.

Community colleges, the K-12 school system, and industries all work in conjunction with UW as well, he said.

“UW may be a culmination for many folks,” said Barlow. “But there are many other opportunities” outside of UW as well.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Elect Them"}]

Bien said he’d like to see UW trustees face election, rather than the governor’s appointment process - but that that would require a change to the state Constitution.

He said he graduated from UW’s college of engineering in 1991.

“Since then, things have changed a lot, and I have not been pleased,” he said. Like Degenfelder, he expressed dislike toward the more modern-social-movement degrees available and urged UW to “get back to our roots.”

He’d appoint people who understand Wyoming’s job needs, show leadership, and “understand what this state is all about,” said Bien, adding that they should also be people of sound moral judgment.

He said he’d like to strive for UW to be a top institution in the nation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The American Library Association"}]

Winters asked a question about a decision that falls uniquely under the purview of the Wyoming governor: whether Wyoming’s state librarian should be in league with the American Library Association.

The Montana State Library cut ties in 2023 with the American Library Association over the ALA president of the time self-identifying as a Marxist.  

The group has also garnered controversy for touting and defending sexually explicit books that are marketed toward kids and youth.

Montana was the first state to break from the 147-year-old organization.  

Unlike Montana, Wyoming doesn’t have a state library board, rather, a state library director under the governor’s direction.

 when Cowboy State Daily pressed the state library director and the governor’s office on the issue after Montana’s break from the ALA.

“My hat’s off to Montana,” said Bien at the Tuesday event. “We stop funding anything that promotes any type of hypersexualization.”

Degenfelder said that by taking ALA book suggestions in libraries and schools, Wyoming has let an organization that had been led by a Marxist determine material in them, and that that system is “broken.”

She agreed with Bien that the state shouldn’t pay dues to that group, and said state leaders should take the issue further, by equipping school boards with policy guidance, and letting parents know what problematic materials are in the libraries now.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Barlow pointed to the power of the purse."}]

Though the Legislature determines the state’s budget, the governor starts that process by proposing the budget, and he also can line-item veto certain provisions in the final budget.

“And then… there’s that red pen that says, nope, we’re not doing this,” he said. Certainly, he added, the governor can direct one person under his purview to do something or not do it. But the budget is a bigger tool, and “you hold (agencies) accountable to it.”

He also emphasized the need for parents’ to be involved in their children’s library access, and said he’d encourage that as governor.

Gov debate 6 9 26

<title>How Wyoming Gov Candidates Handled Questions From The Christian Lobby | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Gubernatorial candidates Eric Barlow, Brent Bien, and Megan Degenfelder fielded questions on Tuesday at a forum in Cheyenne before a largely Christian audience. Policy differences emerged on abortion, university leadership, and library policy.

How Wyoming Gov Candidates Handled Questions From The Christian Lobby

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A barefoot Michigan man accused of threatening two women, smashing windows and running from police through downtown Jackson allegedly told officers, "Please just kill me," moments before a foot chase that ended with him being tased.

Kadin James Decker, 24, made his initial appearance in Teton County Circuit Court on Monday afternoon after being charged with two counts of property destruction and one count of interference with a peace officer.

An affidavit filed by Jackson Police Officer Liam Fowler shows the incident unfolded shortly before midnight June 5 in the heart of Jackson's busy downtown district.

[{"type":"text","text":"Foot Chase Thru Townsquare"}]

Court records show a flurry of 911 calls came in shortly after Decker, his girlfriend and another woman spent part of the evening drinking at Jackson's Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.

Dispatchers told officers a shirtless man wearing black shorts and no shoes was yelling in the street near Jackson's Town Square. Callers reported the man had access to a firearm and was threatening to shoot people and himself.

When Fowler arrived, he found Decker walking eastbound near East Broadway and South King Street.

The officer noted Decker appeared to be bleeding from multiple injuries and had a large cut above his right elbow.

Fowler said he activated his emergency lights, stepped from his patrol vehicle and ordered Decker to stop.

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, Decker looked toward the officer and replied:"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Please just kill me.\""}]

What followed was a foot pursuit through downtown Jackson as officers tried to catch the 6-foot-4, 220-pound man.

[{"type":"text","text":"Police say Decker repeatedly ignored commands to stop."}]

Officer Chase Decker — no relation to the defendant — eventually joined the pursuit. The affidavit says officers warned Decker several times that he would be tased if he continued running.

[{"type":"text","text":"He allegedly kept going."}]

Even after being tased, police say Decker continued resisting commands before finally being taken into custody.

[{"type":"text","text":"Broken Window And Threat"}]

Court records suggest the trouble began sometime after Decker and his girlfriend, Lucy Wadaga, spent part of the evening in downtown Jackson, including a stop at the Cowboy Bar.

Witnesses told police Decker became increasingly agitated and emotional as the night wore on.

After the women left the Cowboy Bar and returned to their car parked near East Broadway, Decker allegedly followed them and began shouting profanities.

Decker threatened to kill his girlfriend and repeatedly referenced having access to a gun, wrote Fowler.

The confrontation escalated when Decker reportedly punched the passenger-side window out, shattering the glass and scattering debris onto the street.

Witnesses described his demeanor as volatile and unpredictable. One told police Decker could appear calm and apologetic one moment before abruptly becoming angry and destructive the next.

After smashing the window, investigators say Decker crossed East Broadway and punched the glass door of Jackson Hole's Old Time Photos.

The damage to the vehicle and storefront was estimated to exceed $1,000, forming the basis for the two felony property destruction charges.

[{"type":"text","text":"Gun Recovered After Arrest"}]

Several witnesses reported hearing Decker make references to having a gun.

One woman told investigators she was particularly alarmed because Decker had access to a firearm inside their vehicle.

She said as she positioned herself between Decker and the car, she feared he might retrieve the weapon.

After Decker was arrested, officers searched the car and recovered a Sig Sauer P365 pistol from a black fanny pack.

The handgun contained a loaded magazine but did not have a round chambered, says the affidavit. 

Court records show he was released from custody June 8 after posting a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

As conditions of his release, Decker is prohibited from contacting the two women identified as victims in the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","text":"He is also barred from returning to Jackson Hole's Old Time Photos. "}]

The court did not require Decker to remain in Teton County, allowing him to return to Michigan as the criminal case moves forward.

Million dollar cowboy 6 9 26

<title>Michigan Tourist Accused Of Drunken Window-Smashing Rampage In Downtown Jackson | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Police say a drunken, shirtless, barefoot Michigan man threatened two women, smashed storefront windows and led authorities on a foot chase in downtown Jackson last week before getting tased. Court documents say he threatened to shoot people and himself.

Michigan Tourist Accused Of Drunken Window-Smashing Rampage In Downtown Jackson

Courts

 after a tense standoff sued the City of Casper and several police officers Friday, saying officers wrongfully killed her son and the city failed to train officers to avoid rights violations. 

Brenda Cothron filed a civil complaint in the federal U.S. District Court for Wyoming through her attorney, Christopher King of Worland. 

It hinges on the June 6, 2024, death of Cothron’s son Trae Spurlock, at an apartment complex in the 5,000 block of PayIt Forward Drive in Casper. 

Spurlock had had a tense encounter with police, whom he claimed to be in his home unlawfully, while police tried to investigate a report that Spurlock had shoved his girlfriend and thrown some keys at her earlier. 

It ended with an escalation, in which Spurlock, sitting near a rifle, said he wasn’t afraid of “death by cop.” He made a quick movement; an officer tased him, and he fell. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Here the facts become uncertain. "}]

The officer who had tased Spurlock switched to his handgun and shot at Spurlock seven times, striking him six times. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Police rendered aid, but Spurlock died. "}]

The prosecutor who investigated the case, Natrona County District Attorney Daniel Itzen, wrote in his October 2024 decision letter that 

 doesn’t reveal whether Spurlock had been reaching for his own rifle at that time. 

The shooting officer told another officer on scene that Spurlock had been reaching for the rifle. 

if he had decided to prosecute the officer who shot Spurlock that night, the evidence would not have carried his case.  

Cothron’s lawsuit accuses the involved officers of violating Spurlock’s constitutional rights. 

It asserts that the officers were not provoked, and that the officer who fired on Spurlock while the latter was on the ground lacked a “lawful or justifiable reason.” 

The complaint alleges that the officers “knowingly” violated the law “when they caused Trae Spurlock’s unwarranted and excruciating physical and mental anguish and death.” 

Its second cause of action accuses the city of failing to train its officers, and having customs or policies that led to officers allegedly violating Spurlock’s rights. 

The complaint also claims the officers caused a wrongful death, that the civil defendants owe Spurlock’s mother and estate damages for causing harm, as well as costs and attorney fees. 

Cothron’s lawsuit complaint notes that officers entered Spurlock’s home without a warrant. 

“They could have left the apartment,” wrote King. “If they were determined to arrest Trae Spurlock they could have obtained a warrant, they could have simply waited until the following day and served Trae Spurlock with a citation. There was no-one in danger. There was no reason for the Officers to continue to escalate the situation.” 

A rifle had been sitting on the balcony along with Spurlock when police met him, the complaint concedes. But it alleges that Spurlock did not control the rifle during the incident. 

[{"type":"text","text":"A Little More Background"}]

Multiple Casper Police Department officers responded to the apartment about 9:30 p.m. that evening and spoke with two women – one of them Spurlock’s girlfriend – who said Spurlock shoved her and threw keys at her, according to official reports on the incident. 

Officers knocked at the apartment door, and Spurlock didn’t answer. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The girlfriend offered them the keys. "}]

Officers pointed their flashlights at the living room and balcony, and spotted Spurlock, shirtless and sitting in a camp chair, on the balcony, with an AR-style rifle at his feet.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Someone flicked on a light."}]

Spurlock opened the sliding glass door and said “get out of my house.”

Officers said they were there to ensure the girlfriend was safe as she gathered her things.

Spurlock said they were trespassing and he could shoot them. There was a back-and-forth as to whether he could do that, Itzen’s decision letter notes.

“I don’t care,” said Spurlock, according to the letter. “Death by cop doesn’t sound too bad. What do you want?”

One officer started talking about whether Spurlock had shoved his girlfriend, and Spurlock said he had, says the letter. 

The shooting officer also tried to get Spurlock to come in from the balcony, away from the gun, but Spurlock refused, and noted he was feet away from the rifle, the letter says.

Itzen wrote that the girlfriend had told officers prior she knew of him having three guns: two rifles and a pistol usually kept in the truck.

Spurlock reached behind a wall, picked up a mason jar and drank out of it. Authorities later found his blood-alcohol level to be 0.267%, says the letter.

Officers kept trying to coax Spurlock away from the rifle.

He stepped into the apartment by a couple feet, and shut the door about halfway, leaving enough room for a person to get out.

“I’m not going to jail tonight. That’s why that f***ing rifle is there. I’m not going to f***ing jail tonight,” he said. “Either death by cop or not, I’ve been in plenty of firefights in my life. I’m not afraid of another one.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He added, “Take that as you will.”"}]

Spurlock told the officers he was highly proficient with a rifle, and if he wanted, the officers would already be dead, the letter and incident video note. The officers spoke with him for about 13 minutes,

Ultimately, the officer moved in to arrest Spurlock for domestic assault. Spurlock shook his head and refused to be handcuffed.

The officer already had his taser drawn then, the letter says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"To The Door"}]

Spurlock opened the sliding glass door and made a quick movement to the balcony.

The officer discharged his taser for a little more than three seconds.

Itzen wasn’t sure, in his letter, if Spurlock fell down then because of the taser or because he tripped.

At some point the officer dropped the taser and switched to his handgun.

He shot seven times, striking Spurlock six of those times, says the letter.

Police started life-saving measures, but Spurlock died.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"‘Not Going To Jail’ "}]

Itzen said this evidence wasn’t enough to carry a case against the shooting officer through the justice system. 

“As you are aware, the State of Wyoming must prove each element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” wrote Itzen in his letter, which was addressed to a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agent. “By Spurlock’s own words, he admitted the rifle was out because he – Spurlock – was not going to jail. What that ultimately means is unknown, be it suicide or a shoot-out with law enforcement.”

Police were at the apartment due to Spurlock’s own “criminal activity” and were there at the invitation of the leaseholder and for a civil standby, says the letter.

Officers tried to deescalate the situation.

“Once it was clear to Spurlock he was going to jail, he made a quick movement to the area where the rifle was located,” wrote Itzen. “The State would fail in meeting its burden of proof in this case.”

For those reasons, “the State declines (to charge) this case,” wrote Itzen. “Should new facts or circumstances come to light, this decision can be revisited.”

The Casper City Attorney’s Office did not comment by publication. 

Casper officer shooting uncooperative 6 17 24

<title>Mother Of Man Who Suggested "Death By Cop" Sues Casper | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The mother of a man who was fatally shot by police after a tense standoff sued the City of Casper and police officers, saying officers wrongfully killed her son and the city failed to train officers to avoid rights violations. 

Mother Of Man Who Suggested "Death By Cop" Sues Casper

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Public Safety

BAGGS — Waking up in this usually sleepy town of 411 people Tuesday morning, you wouldn’t know that only eight hours earlier it was the scene of a major multi-state response to an active shooter that ended with a Carbon County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot multiple times and a dead suspect.

As late as 10 p.m. Monday, the initial crime scene ­— a nondescript off-yellow, two-story apartment building — was surrounded by dozens of law enforcement vehicles and crime-scene tape a stone’s throw from southbound Wyoming Highway 789.

Along with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, Rawlins Police Department and at least a half-dozen other agencies from Wyoming and northern Colorado had responded.

[{"type":"text","text":"By 6 a.m. Tuesday, it was business as usual around Baggs — almost."}]

Folks were up early and in their heavy-duty trucks on their way to job sites, the pickups dusty in a way that says they work as hard as their drivers.

They did their usual rounds, stopping for breakfast, coffee, and a little gossip to start the day.

On Tuesday, there was little gossip as conversations were dominated by Monday’s deadly incident.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘It’s Just What We Do’"}]

Now in her 80s, Linda Fleming grew up in Baggs and has lived her life teaching generations of local kids, along with serving a stint as the town’s mayor in the 1980s.

She called Monday’s deadly shootout “something tragic” that also highlights the hero spirit of first responders, along with the neighbors who helped the deputy after being shot multiple times until an ambulance could arrive.

“The most immediate (heroes) were the neighbors who rallied for that deputy,” she told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday morning.

Inquiries to the Carbon County Sheriff’s and coroner’s offices for more information about Monday’s shooting were not returned by the time this story was published. That includes the condition of the deputy and the identification and cause of death of the suspected shooter.

Fleming said she’s not surprised regular people reportedly sprang into action to help the deputy, along with local EMS that was at the scene quickly.

“It’s just what we do,” she said. “We don’t have any local police, so people help and don’t give it a second thought.”

She also said that while violent episodes like Monday’s have become rare for Baggs, that wasn’t always the case.

“I was mayor in the ’80s when we had a pretty serious drug problem at that time,” Fleming said. “But we didn’t have anything like the shooting of a police officer.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Usual Suspects"}]

At the Stage Stop General Store, the usual suspects were in their usual places, sipping coffee from the four stools at the front of the store by the checkout counter.

Like clockwork, as one of the “old geezers” — as one described the group — got up and left, another filtered in to take the empty stool.

The usual gossip was replaced Tuesday with talk about the shooting, the manhunt for the suspect, and then the ultimate ending with a deputy flown to a Colorado hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and a dead suspect.

“I’m reading about it right now on Cowboy State Daily,” said the local on the far end, holding up his phone.

They’re all talkers, until asked their names. “Oh, gee, I guess I forgot it,” one silver-haired coffee drinker quipped, making them all laugh.

What they weren’t vague about was their shock over what happened, and the resulting hourslong shelter-in-place order that shut down the town.

It was the same at the Cowboy Inn Restaurant, where server Brett Ferrier said a full dining room of customers was not allowed to leave.

She also echoed Fleming’s sentiment that she’s not surprised the deputy may owe his life to those fast-acting neighbors.

“This is the best place I’ve lived,” said Ferrier, adding that she moved to the area just last September. “These are real neighbors, they have your back and they’re so welcoming.”

The day after a gunfight that left a deputy shot and the suspect dead in Baggs, Wyoming, former mayor Linda Fleming said it's no surprise neighbors rushed to help the fallen deputy. “It's just what we do. People don’t give it a second thought," she said.

Daily Smile: Monday, October 23, 2023

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