The Wyoming Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced that the head of the Wyoming Highway Patrol is retiring.
WHP Administrator Col. Tim Cameron told Cowboy State Daily he’s been considering retiring since about November, when he broached the idea with his family. He said he told the agency’s deputy director he was planning to retire as soon as he returned from Christmas vacation.
“It’s certainly been one of the pleasures of my life, living in Wyoming and being part of the Highway Patrol,” Cameron said in a Tuesday phone interview. “Being, feeling so supported by the citizens of Wyoming, not just personally; I’m talking professionally and for law enforcement in general.”
Cameron said the other state law enforcement agencies are responsive to the public and, “I’ve always felt like we were different uniforms, but same teams.”
Cameron’s announcement comes as the WHP is facing a financial probe, something the administrator acknowledged.
Cowboy State Daily reported earlier this month that the Wyoming Highway Patrol’s (WHP) umbrella agency, the Wyoming Department of Transportation, is auditing it after overtime spending surged.
Cameron said at the time that all levels of personnel misused overtime, sending the agency into a budget deficit. That problem began in the COVID era because the agency started using heavy overtime to fill staffing gaps, he said.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol Association collected dozens of first-person stories regarding WHP issues and published them as part of a social media campaign this year. The association’s president and 25-year highway patrol veteran collected the stories after putting out a call for first-person accounts, he told Cowboy State Daily in February.
Those issues didn’t hasten his decision to retire, Cameron said Tuesday.
At the same time, he added, he didn’t want those issues to stall a decision he’d already made.
“(Retiring) was part of my plan, part of the discussion with my family – and my family’s plan,” he said. “This was, long before that bubbled up, this was my intention and I just stuck to that.”
Cameron said his youngest child plays college baseball; his oldest coaches college baseball, and he and his wife want to travel.
Last Post
The statement the Wyoming Department of Transportation released Tuesday on Cameron’s retirement notes that he served three years with the agency.
All those were as its commander, Cameron told Cowboy State Daily. He applied for the job and underwent a roughly six-month vetting process while he was living in Maryland, he said.
“After a career in law enforcement in Maryland, I wanted a last post — I hoped to do that in Wyoming,” he said.
Cameron has had a more-than-46-year law enforcement career, the statement says.
“I am deeply proud of the exemplary work carried out every day by our Troopers, professional staff, dispatchers, and port of entry personnel,” Cameron said in the statement. “Their dedication, professionalism, and commitment have made a lasting contribution to the safety of our state. Serving alongside them has been one of the greatest privileges of my career.”
Under Cameron’s leadership, says the statement, trooper vacancy rates decreased more than 11%, and salaries increased by more than 8%.
“He also brought data-driven policing to the Patrol, strategically deploying personnel and resources in areas with the highest crash risk and improving the agency’s ability to prevent serious crashes and fatalities,” the statement says.
Through him, the statement continues, WHP invested in trooper safety and operational technology, including upgraded in-car computer systems, body-worn cameras and firearm sights.
Cameron instituted a policy requiring all troopers graduating from the Wyoming Highway Patrol Academy to complete Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Level III inspector training, strengthening the Patrol’s commercial vehicle enforcement program.
“Colonel Tim Cameron is a stalwart leader who brought extensive expertise to the Wyoming Highway Patrol during his tenure,” Gov. Mark Gordon said in the statement. “His commitment to professional training and education, including tools for Troopers to better support our community members in crisis, is one of the many hallmarks of his time with the agency. Jennie and I are grateful for his dedication to keeping travelers and elected officials — including our family — safe. We wish him the best in his retirement.”
As the Wyoming Department of Transportation and WHP begin the search for a new colonel, the statement says, WYDOT Director Darin Westby will serve as interim administrator of the Division starting April 1.
“I thank Colonel Cameron for leading the Guardians of the Cowboy State with commitment and integrity,” said Westby. “His decades of law enforcement experience and intellect, calm demeanor and team-oriented mindset made him a valued member of my Executive team, and his steady leadership made for a stronger Patrol and safer highways for all.”
WYDOT and WHP will consider both internal applicants and those from a nationwide pool for the position. The search process for a new Colonel is expected to take about six months.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
