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Albany County paid $1.2 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the mother of Robert Ramirez, whose son was shot and killed in 2018 by a sheriff’s deputy with a checkered history, a newly released document shows.
After a protracted legal fight brought by WyoFile to obtain the records, during which Albany County cited possible harm to the public as a reason for withholding public documents, officials released the previously confidential settlement agreement Friday.
The document shows that the county paid the $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Debra Hinkel after then-Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Colling shot her son Robert Ramirez twice in the back, killing him on Nov. 4, 2018. Ramirez, a 39-year-old Laramie resident, was unarmed and living with mental illness when Colling pulled him over for a minor traffic violation. As part of the settlement, the county also agreed to mental health intervention training for deputies.
“I’m happy that the information is out there,” Hinkel said. “I’m happy that there was at least some accountability.”
After an investigation into Colling’s use of lethal force — his third in uniform — Albany County Prosecuting Attorney Peggy Trent declined in 2019 to bring charges against the deputy for Ramirez’s death. In addition to his involvement in three fatal police shootings, Colling was fired from the Las Vegas Police Department after facing accusations that he beat a videographer.
Then in September 2020, Hinkel filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit. After almost two years of court proceedings, parties settled in May 2022.
Albany County denied WyoFile’s initial August 2022 public records request for the settlement agreements because the documents were “privileged or confidential by law,” then-County Clerk Jackie Gonzales wrote in an email on Oct. 2, 2022.
Ten months later, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in Gates v. Memorial Hospital that settlement agreements involving government entities are subject to the transparency requirements of the Wyoming Public Records Act regardless of confidentiality provisions. Citing that fresh legal precedent, WyoFile resubmitted its request to Albany County on Aug. 22, 2023.
Albany County responded on Sept. 15, filing in the 2nd District Court in Laramie seeking clarification from the court regarding its obligation to honor WyoFile’s request for the settlement agreements.
In one of several motions, John Bowers, an Afton-based attorney hired to represent the county, argued that releasing the settlement documents “would be viewed as a breach of the confidentiality agreement by the parties and cause Albany County and the public funds to be at risk by incurring additional litigation.”
Judge Misha Westby declined to weigh in during a hearing in December. But before the legal battle could continue, Albany County gave up the fight.
“Upon receiving no clarification, Albany County is releasing the Settlement Agreement, in its entirety and without redaction, to the public in accordance with the decision in Gates,” Albany County Sheriff Aaron Appelhans said in a press release mailed to the media late Friday afternoon.
In addition to $1.2 million to the estate of Mr. Ramirez, the settlement agreement included a provision that the Albany County Sheriff’s Office would make a “reasonable effort” to continue crisis intervention training for deputies. The program is designed to improve how law enforcement responds to mental health crises.
The settlement agreement was also contingent on U.S District Court Judge Nancy Freudenthal entering an order stating that “she finds there is no legal basis for evidence tampering” and denying Hinkel’s motion for default judgment.
That motion — filed by Hinkel’s attorneys in March 2022 — alleged the sheriff’s office altered videos of Colling killing Ramirez by deleting damning scenes from body camera footage.
News of the settlement’s release was bittersweet for Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie), who founded Albany County for Proper Policing in the wake of the Ramirez shooting.
“I’m glad [Sheriff] Appelhans released the settlement agreement so that the people of Albany County can finally get some closure on how many of their tax dollars went towards defending Derek Colling and [former-Sheriff] Dave O’Malley,” Provenza said, “but we could have avoided every penny.”
She questioned why the process took so long.
“Our communities shouldn’t have to fight so hard for transparency from our government,” Provenza said.
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