A domestic disturbance culminated in an officer-involved shooting Monday in Douglas, Wyoming, just two days after a similar incident unfolded in Sundance.
Douglas Police Department officers responded at about 9:51 p.m. Monday to the 700 block of Hamilton Street for a reported domestic incident involving a firearm, according to a statement the agency posted to Facebook Tuesday morning.
The suspect “displayed a handgun in which the officers perceived an immediate deadly threat,” says the statement, adding that, “one officer discharged their firearm striking the suspect.”
Officers performed lifesaving measures and took the suspect to the Memorial Hospital of Converse County.
DPD doesn't report if the suspect died. Douglas Police Chief Todd Byerly did not immediately respond to a voicemail request for comment.
All officers on scene were unharmed. The officer involved is now on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, as is standard protocol and department policy, the statement says.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating the shooting, the statement adds.
‘First Class Neighbors’
Douglas resident Rick Kriebel told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that he believes the police response happened roughly across the street from where he lives.
He didn’t hear the shooting because he was wearing Bose noise-cancelling headphones that evening. At about 15 minutes after midnight, he looked out his window and saw the street “lit up like a Christmas tree with flashing police car lights,” he said.
His wife heard a boom earlier that night but didn’t think much of it at the time, he added.
Kriebel wasn’t sure who was shot.
The house police were investigating across the street was home to a couple with four kids, he said. He called them a nice family.
Their children will rake Kriebel’s pine needles; and sometimes the family will help him shovel his walks, he said.
“They’re first class neighbors, that’s all I know about them. Really great people,” said Kriebel.
Two Days
This is the second officer-involved shooting in Wyoming in three days.
An armed home invasion in Sundance, Wyoming, turned into a deputy-involved shooting Saturday morning, the Crook County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.
At about 5 a.m. Saturday, Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an armed home invasion involving domestic violence in Sundance, says a Facebook post by the agency.
While responding to the home, deputies learned that someone had fired a shot in the home. Once they were there, the 911 dispatcher told deputies that the victim didn’t know whether the suspect was still in the home, says the statement.
While staging to enter the home, deputies found the suspect walking down a road about a block from the home.
The “subject” pointed a firearm at one of the deputies, says the statement.
In response, the deputy shot and hit the suspect, who died on scene, says the post.
Crook County Coroner Mike Frolander identified the decedent Tuesday as Joseph Keith Niemeyer, 48.
The deputy involved is on administrative leave until the investigation is over.
“Due to the privacy of all individuals involved, no further details of the incident will be released at this time,” says the statement, adding, “Sheriff Jeff Hodge extends his deepest condolences to everyone affected by this tragic event.”
DCI issued a statement to Cowboy State Daily, noting, “it is general practice in Wyoming for DCI to be called in to conduct an objective and thorough investigation of the shooting and surrounding circumstances.” The investigation will consist of, among other investigative procedures; scene processing, physical evidence analysis, digital evidence analysis, and interviews. “All available resources will be made available to Agents conducting this investigation to ensure the facts of what happened are collected in a timely, accurate and thorough manner,” says the statement.
Ultimately the Converse County Attorney or a special prosecutor will review DCI’s report to see whether the shooting was justified.
“DCI does not foresee releasing further information in this case until a prosecutorial decision has been made,” the statement adds.
DCI asks any witnesses to the incident to contact DCI at 307-777-7181. Additionally, DCI requests residents in the area of the incident to provide any camera recordings of the incident.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
