A Casper police officer has been named publicly as the agent who shot a Sheridan man Feb. 14, after the man’s two-day standoff with police, the Casper Police Department announced Thursday.
The department chose to identify the officer by name — Officer Michael Chand — who has been with the Casper department for four years, according to a Thursday press release by the Casper Police Department.
Chand was placed on administrative leave after the shooting but is now back at work, serving the department in a modified assignment, the statement says, adding that Chand was among 23 officers involved in the February standoff.
Sheridan Police Chief Travis Koltiska called agents from Casper and other Wyoming communities to the scene of the standoff Feb. 13.
William Lowery, 46, had reportedly shot Sheridan Police Sgt. Nevada Krinkee that day, then fled to the home of a woman whom he did not know, where he engaged in a roughly two-day armed standoff with police.
Krinkee had been trying to serve a trespass notice on Lowery, who’d been evicted from an apartment in Sheridan.
Once barricaded in the Sheridan woman’s home, Lowery occasionally fired upon police during the standoff, scanner traffic indicated at the time.
Police lobbed gas grenades and shot gas projectiles into the home. They surrounded it all night Feb. 13-14. They flooded it with a fire hose, burst open walls with an armored vehicle and ultimately ripped the home open with a track hoe excavator.
Tried To Flee
Lowery tried to flee the home, armed, and was killed in the escape attempt, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation reported at the time.
“After more than 24 hours of negotiations and other tactics to get the suspect to peacefully surrender, the suspect exited the house with a weapon and tried to flee,” says the Feb. 14 DCI statement. “The suspect was shot by police and pronounced dead at the scene.”
DCI is still investigating the shooting, says the Casper department’s Thursday statement.
Casper is also reviewing the incident.
“The internal review of this incident remains ongoing as we consider the role of our tactics, equipment, training and the guidance of our policies, as they were brought to bear when meeting the challenges faced during this event,” the statement says.
“The impact of this event and the events leading up to it have been felt across our state and throughout our profession. We are humbled to have been able to assist in this incident,” the department continued. “It is a privilege to serve with law enforcement, fire fighters, medics, telecommunicators, and the hundreds of behind-the-scenes professional staff in our Wyoming community.”
The department thanked the city of Sheridan for its hospitality.
The Aftermath
In the incident’s aftermath, the owner of the standoff house, Karo Hamilton, and her mother, who has been battling a long-term illness, had to relocate to another home. Hamilton’s home was destroyed in the standoff.
Public employees found Hamilton’s two beloved dogs but as of Thursday afternoon, her cat Cersei still has not been found.
Sheridan College hosted a large memorial service for Krinkee last month, which Gov. Mark Gordon, numerous police officers and community members attended.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
