Sheridan Police Department officers early Sunday shot a male who fled a home with a long gun after “several shots” had proceeded from the home and toward officers, the department said.
The male was taken to the hospital, according to a statement the Sheridan Police Department released Sunday morning.
It’s the second officer-involved shooting in Wyoming in the past week: a Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office deputy also shot and injured a male after a disturbance in which the male reportedly shot himself first in Rock Springs, early Monday morning.
In Distress
In the Sheridan incident, a person called dispatch at about 3:20 a.m. Sunday morning to report that a woman was in distress, and saying someone wanted to kill her baby, the police department wrote.
Officers tried to contact “an involved party,” says the statement.
The involved party exited the house then retreated back into it suddenly.
“At that time, several shots came from the house in the direction of officers,” the statement says. The involved party left the house, long gun in hand, and advanced toward officers, who in turn “engaged the male and shot him,” it adds.
The male was taken to the hospital for emergency care.
No officers were harmed, says the statement.
Investigation
The statement says the involved officers have been placed on administrative leave, and the agency has asked the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to investigate the incident in accordance with policy.
DCI investigates law enforcement agencies and officers involved in shootings.
After that, DCI hands its findings to the local county attorney or a special prosecutor, and the prosecutor reviews the investigation to decide whether the officers involved were justified or may face criminal charges.
It is rare in Wyoming for an officer involved in a shooting on the job to face criminal charges.
One former Thermopolis Police Department Sergeant, Mike Mascorro, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in 2023, but now faces civil litigation from the family of the man he shot fatally earlier that year.
Under Wyoming law, people can return defensive force when a reasonable person in like circumstances would judge that level of defense necessary to prevent an injury or loss, and no more.
A person can use deadly defensive force if necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury to himself or another person. That necessity can stem from honest belief that the danger exists, whether the danger is real or apparent.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
