Albany County deputy who shot man is identified
The Latest on an officer-involved shooting in Wyoming:
UPDATE 10:50 a.m. The Albany County Sheriff’s Office has identified the deputy who fatally shot a 39-year-old man on Sunday in Laramie.
Cpl. Derek Colling killed Robbie Ramirez of Laramie during a traffic stop.
Relatives say Ramirez had a variant of schizophrenia and feared police because past interactions with law enforcement caused him to be placed in mental-health institutions.
Colling has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
The Laramie Boomerang reports that while Colling was an officer in Las Vegas he fatally shot a teenager who was holding a knife to his mother’s throat in 2009 and then was later fired in 2011 after beating a man who was filming police.
5:50 p.m.:
A brother of a man shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in Wyoming says the victim was a kind, sweet person who struggled with episodes of paranoia.
Randy Ramirez, of Fort Collins, Colorado, says his brother, Robbie Ramirez, loved to play classical guitar and was an athletic hockey player.
Ramirez says his brother tended to be fearful of police because some of his past interactions with police ended up with him going to mental-health institutions.
Ramirez says his brother was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Schizoaffective disorder carries symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and paranoia, as well as a mood disorder, such as mania or depression.
Relatives say an Albany County sheriff’s deputy shot Robbie Ramirez after a traffic stop Sunday.
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2:51 p.m.:
An Albany County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man in Laramie.
The Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating. Operations commander Ronnie Jackson declined to release any further information about Sunday’s shooting, including the names of the officer or the victim.
Laramie resident Doris Bunn-Manfull told the Laramie Boomerang the victim was her 39-year-old grandson, Robbie Ramirez, who had schizophrenia. She said the shooting happened during a traffic stop.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that causes people to have thoughts or experiences that are out of touch with reality.
County Attorney Peggy Trent said she couldn’t release any information about the shooting.