The man killed in an officer-involved shooting Monday in Worland was 37-year-old Derek Fyffe, the coroner confirmed Wednesday to Cowboy State Daily.
The Worland Police Department in a Tuesday statement said the suspect, now identified as Fyffe, was implicated in a felony property destruction case from earlier Monday.
Officers approached him near the New River Bridge after a person called the man in for appearing under the influence of an unknown substance, the statement says.
Officers found him standing outside his vehicle, and he darted into his vehicle as they approached, says the statement. He refused at first to exit. When he did exit, he fought officers, reportedly.
The man produced a handgun and fired at the four police officers on scene.
Two officers shot back, stopping him, and he died on scene, says the statement.
One police officer sustained non-life-threatening gunshot injuries and was briefly hospitalized at the Washakie Medical Center, the department wrote.
The two officers who shot Fyffe are on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
As is standard practice, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation is launching an independent investigation into the officer-involved shooting. Once finished, the agency will refer its findings to Washakie County Attorney Tony Barton or to a special prosecutor, if Barton declines to oversee the case.
The Eviction
Fyffe’s aunt declined Wednesday to comment on his passing.
His father died in 2023, and a twin brother died in 2018. His mother could not be reached for comment by publication time.
Washakie County Coroner Jeff Lapp confirmed Wednesday that Fyffe is the decedent in the shooting.
Fyffe was evicted from a Worland home in October of last year.
When Fyffe did not leave the home, court documents say, a judge ordered him removed from the home by Feb. 27 of this year.
New Year’s Day
A felony-level interference charge from January 2017 says Fyffe was violent toward police officers at that time.
The evidentiary affidavit by Washakie County Deputy Jonathan West says that during a Jan. 1, 2017, arrest, Fyffe became loud and verbally abusive toward officers in jail.
Then-Deputy Austin Brookwell (who is now Washakie County Sheriff) went to help a jail deputy put Fyffe in a restraint chair, as did West.
Fyffe exhibited “considerable strength in pulling free” of the chair’s restraints, leading West to opine that the man was under the influence of drugs, says the document.
When West tried to push Fyffe’s hand back while securing him, Fyffe “snapped at” West’s fingers with his teeth, and later grabbed and squeezed West’s hand with extreme force, says the affidavit.
He was ultimately sentenced to four years’ supervised probation, with the threat of between two and four years in prison if his probation were revoked.
He was released from probation on that charge in 2021, his court file says.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
