County in Wyoming Pays a $1.2 Million Settlement to the Family of Man Killed by Sheriff’s Deputy

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 on 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.

Read the source article at Wyoming Tribune Eagle