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In November of 2020 a Gillette resident died from the result of an officer-involved shooting. He was shooting at the officer while attempting to flee, and the officer returned fire. There were four independent witnesses in passing vehicles who all corroborated the police officer's story, as well as a passenger in the victim's car who also corroborated the police officer's version of events.

Really? It only took two months for Law Enforcement to find the words with which to convey that to the trusting public?

On 01-26-2021 they released the info that the officer would not be charged and would not be identified by name.

If this is a true story, the police officer is a hero. He saved us all from a madman loose with a gun, who was believed to have already been shooting that gun (and who turned out to be a criminal with a violent history). Yet that officer's identity is being "protected" instead of presenting him as a hero.

For every past officer-involved death that I know of, the officers have always been identified by name. That includes the name of the officer who shot the woman who was armed with a knife in 2015, an event that bothers many Gillette residents to this day.

We have a fairly high profile police officer still on the force who shot and killed a man in 2001, and it was announced one week later that there would be no criminal charges brought. It has not harmed his image or career that he shot and killed a Gillette resident when he "acted in defense of his fellow officer and of himself." It took only one week to release that information.

The 2020 law enforcement community in many ways operates like organized crime. That makes anything they say now highly suspicious. It took them two months to release the details of what would actually be a heroic action by a local police officer, if it was true, and yet that officer's name is still a big secret.

When a newly appointed County Attorney didn't want to touch this hot potato, and when the County Attorney who accepted the case reportedly stated on day 1 that he might never identify the officer involved in this shooting, those are both red flags that the situation is questionable.

"The officer was well within his scope of duties and direction of his supervisors," is an alleged quote resulting from the investigation into the matter.

Scope of duties - that covers anything. When Gillette police officers entered a woman's home in the middle of the night without a warrant, ordered her to her knees, and tasered her, over a traffic violation by her teenage kid, Hloucal announced there would be no disciplinary action taken because those actions were within the scope of their duties and within established police department protocol.

By not releasing the name of the officer involved, from now on, every time a citizen interacts in an unpleasant way with a law enforcement officer, the citizen may wonder if he'll be shot over a staged event. Every time that unpleasant interaction is discussed, someone will say, "I wonder if he's the one who killed that guy." or "You're probably lucky he didn't shoot you."

That doesn't seem fair to all the law enforcement officers who didn't pull the trigger, does it? And again, if the released story is a true story, it certainly would not cause harm to the law officer's career or reputation.

Sniff test: Passenger in victim's vehicle corroborates officer's story. 4 independent witnesses in passing vehicles corroborate officer's story. No mention of those corroborating witnesses at the outset of the release of information regarding the shooting.

I must say, fairly surprising that the passenger in the vehicle wasn't charged with something, or at least mentioned at the outset. Perhaps it was a Confidential Informant.

God Bless the wonderful law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and Judges who have enriched my life. They encourage me to keep speaking up because they abhor the illegal police actions in Gillette and Campbell County as much as I do.

I look forward to the day a new administration brings Justice and truthfulness to our community. Until then I remain,

Your obedient citizen.

Update: This email was originally sent at 08:00 AM on January 27, 2021. The officer's name and body-cam footage were released by early afternoon that same date.