On November 4, 2018, Laramie resident Robbie Ramirez was shot and killed by Albany County Sheriff deputy Derek Colling during a traffic stop. The incident and investigation has been closely followed by the Laramie community.
In a statement released on June 3, Sheriff Aaron Appelhans confirmed the Corporal Derek Colling had resigned on Wednesday, June 2. Colling was working as a detention deputy at the Albany County Jail at the time of his resignation.
Prior to that transfer, Colling was promoted to corporal under former Sheriff Dave O’Malley.
Colling’s resignation follows both O’Malley and County Attorney Peggy Trent, who have left their positions this past year.
O’Malley retired on January 2, less than a week before the filing of a lawsuit against the county by Debra Hinkel, Ramirez’s mother. The announcement was an abrupt change from when O’Malley had previously planned to retire.
Trent resigned from her role as County Attorney on May 4. She had convened the grand jury who cleared Colling of the shooting of Ramirez.
Niether O’Malley or Trent cited Colling’s actions as reasons for their leaving.
Following the press release from Albany County Sheriff Office, the Laramie Human Rights Network (LHRN) announced they would be hosting a celebration at the LaBonte Skate Park on June 4. The event also acted as a fundraiser for Robbie’s House – a community organization that aims to increase empowerment and opportunities for people living with mental illness in Laramie, according to the LHRN Facebook post.
Taylor Norton, who spoke for LHRN, said, “The Laramie community is amazing. The turnout for the celebration at Labonte Park was incredible, despite how short-notice it was. The people in this city also displayed their incredible generosity with thousands in donations being raised in just a few hours. Robbie’s House is a great cause, and I encourage everyone to support those great people in any way they can.”
Norton said that Albany County for Proper Policing (ACoPP) has put in the work to get to this point.
“ACoPP put in a lot of work to get us to the point of Derek Colling’s resignation from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. Not only that, Dave O’Malley and Peggy Trent resigned from their positions as County Sheriff and County Attorney respectively,” Norton said. “All of these were goals of ACoPP, and the Laramie Humans were happy to provide whatever assistance we could to bring awareness to their years-long efforts.”
When asked for comment, ACoPP forwarded their press release to the Branding Iron.
In it, Karlee Provenza, executive director of Albany County for Proper Policing, said, “Derek Colling turning in his badge and gun is because of the efforts made by this community that fought for justice for Robbie Ramirez. Colling’s resignation is accountability, but it is not justice.
“When an officer who engaged in. misconduct leaves their position because they feel the walls closing in on them, the only way to ensure that they don’t take up employment somewhere else is to have that officer’s certification revoked. With the history that Colling has, it is imperative that he is decertified by POST to protect other communities.”
POST is the Peace Officer Standards and Training certification that law enforcement officers have to be certified through. ACoPP is currently pushing for Colling’s decertification.
Norton said, “To the best of my understanding, that process has not yet been abandoned, but it does appear his resignation was timed in order to discourage further action in pursuit of that. It is imperative that his decertification goes forward so other communities in the country can be protected from his police work. He has abused his power within multiple agencies, and simply cannot be allowed to continue.
“Moreover, the resignation of a single ACSO corporal is a far cry from the types of reforms we need not only in this community, but throughout the country. It is not enough to identify the so-called ‘bad apples’ after somebody dies.”
When asked about the celebration, Alix Hegy, a graduate student at UW, said, “I personally think that it is important that we do things like the #ByeColling Celebration because it allows us to celebrate the little things while understanding that there is so much more work to be done in this area.”
Norton said that Derek Colling is not an anomaly, even thought it’s obviously a good thing he is not in policing anymore.
“True justice for his victims – and the victims of police murder and violence throughout the history of this country – would be to erase the systems that allowed a privileged few to act with impunity,” Norton said.
