§ 9-1-704 — Qualifications for employment as a peace officer; loss of certification for felony conviction; termination from employment

Wyoming § 9-1-704

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 09: Administration of the Government
• Ch. 1: STATE OFFICERS
• Art. 7: PEACE OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING COMMISSION

Text

(a) Within fifteen (15) days after the appointment,
termination, resignation or death of any peace officer or
dispatcher, written notice thereof shall be given to the
commission by the employing agency.
(b) No county, sheriff, mayor, municipality, state agency
or any other person authorized by law to appoint peace officers
in this state shall appoint any person as a peace officer who
does not meet the following qualifications. The person shall:
(i) Be a United States citizen;
(ii) Be an adult;
(iii) Be fingerprinted. Local, state and national
fingerprint files shall be searched to determine if the
applicant has a criminal record;
(iv) Not have been convicted of a crime for which he
could have been imprisoned in a federal penitentiary or state
prison;
(v) Hold a high school diploma or evidence of an
equivalent achievement;
(vi) Have good moral character as determined by a
background investigation. The hiring agency shall complete a
background investigation as defined by the commission of any
applicant for employment as a peace officer before the applicant
may be employed or begin training as a peace officer;
(vii) Be free of any physical, emotional or mental
conditions which might adversely affect his performance of duty
as a peace officer. Physical condition shall be evaluated by a
person licensed to practice medicine. Emotional and mental
conditions shall be evaluated by a licensed psychologist or
psychiatrist;
(viii) Pass an oral interview examination by the
hiring agency.
(c) Notwithstanding any general, specific or local law or
charter to the contrary, no person shall receive an original
appointment on a permanent basis or hold an appointment on a
permanent basis as a peace officer unless the person has been
awarded a certificate by the director attesting to his
satisfactory completion of an approved peace officer basic
training program.
(d) No person shall be appointed as a peace officer on a
permanent basis for more than one (1) year unless within one (1)
year from the date of appointment he is awarded a certificate by
the director attesting that he satisfactorily completed a
commission approved peace officer's basic training program.
(e) No person shall be appointed as a detention officer on
a permanent basis for more than one (1) year unless within one
(1) year from the date of appointment he is awarded a
certificate by the director attesting that he satisfactorily
completed a commission approved detention officer basic training
program.
(f) Every person who is appointed as a part-time or
reserve peace officer shall forfeit his position unless within
two (2) years from the date of his appointment he is awarded a
certificate by the director attesting that he satisfactorily
completed a commission approved peace officer basic training
program.
(g) Notwithstanding subsections (c) through (e) of this
section, the commission may waive the basic peace officer
training program and certify those applicants who can pass a
written examination provided by the commission and an oral
interview attesting to the applicant's ability in law
enforcement. The applicant shall prove that he satisfactorily
completed a basic peace officer training program which in the
commission's opinion is comparable to that required by this
section before waiver is granted.
(h) A person who is convicted of a felony after his
appointment as a peace officer is ineligible for continued
employment as a peace officer. If the person has been certified
under this section, his certification shall be automatically
revoked on the date of his conviction. The director shall
notify the person and the person's employing agency upon
revocation of certification under this subsection.
(j) In the case of termination of a peace officer, the
employing agency shall notify the commission and the officer, in
writing, of the termination, setting forth in detail the facts
and reasons for the termination. If the officer is terminated
for failure to comply with this act, or rules promulgated under
it, the notice shall so specify. Any officer who has been
terminated may present a written statement to the commission
responding to the claims made against him or setting forth the
facts and reasons for the termination as he believes them to be,
and that statement shall become a permanent part of the file. A
potential employer may contact the commission to inquire as to
the facts and reasons an officer was terminated from any
previous employing agency. Unless otherwise prohibited by law,
the commission shall, upon request provide to the potential
employer all pertinent information which is in its possession.
(k) Upon receipt from the department of family services of
a certified copy of an order from a court to withhold, suspend
or otherwise restrict a certificate issued by the commission,
the commission shall notify the party named in the court order
and the employing agency of the withholding, suspension or
restriction of the certificate in accordance with the terms of
the court order. No appeal under the Wyoming Administrative
Procedure Act shall be allowed for a certificate withheld,
suspended or restricted under this subsection.
(m) The portion of a personnel file that is specifically
related to a complaint and relevant to any of the qualifications
specified in subsection (b) of this section or prescribed by the
commission under W.S. 9-1-702(f)(iv) or (v) for any person
employed as a peace officer or detention officer by a law
enforcement unit shall be made available to the commission not
later than thirty (30) days after the commission makes a written
request to the employing agency for the personnel file
information. The commission shall request records under this
subsection only for purposes of investigating or determining a
peace officer's or detention officer's initial certification,
continuing certification, suspension, revocation or termination.
The personnel file information received by the commission under
this subsection shall not be disclosed by the commission to any
other person except as otherwise required by law. If the
employing agency fails to provide the personnel file information
within thirty (30) days of the commission's written request, the
commission may file a petition with the district court for the
release of the requested personnel file information.