Posted on December 11, 2018 at 3:09 PM by Nancy Oakland-Potter
Q. I saw a police officer use the city police vehicle to drop/pick up his kid from the Rec Center and other places on numerous occasions. I was just wondering why during these financially restraining times in Wyoming, we as tax payers are paying for the gas/depreciation of the vehicle in Laramie, Wyoming. When I do my taxes, they give me 50 cents for every mile driven and I am sure that police vehicles do not depreciate any slower or differently. Wyoming has many financial gaps in its budget, including but not limited to, not paying the University of Wyoming STAFF what they are worth, having a financial gap in the school system, which they were considering pulling the DLI program from Spring Creek because of financial reasons. I have an idea... We as taxpayers should quit paying for police officers to run their personal errands, on the clock, using taxpayers gas, and depreciating police vehicles for not work-related events.
A. The Laramie Police Department has a take home vehicle policy. The policy is designed to increase police presence and visibility throughout the community. Officers who take their vehicles home are allowed to drop off or pick up children or run errands, if those activities coincide with the officer traveling to or from work. Officers are not allowed to use their vehicles in an off-duty capacity. It is a positive thing for you to see a police vehicle at the Rec Center or at other locations because it means other people are seeing them as well. Our goal with this program is to enhance the overall safety of all our residents.