CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Casper’s mayor and City Council have called for an investigation of the Police Department after a survey found poor morale and a number of officers looking for other work.
Officers surveyed by the Fraternal Order of Police complained about Chief Jim Wetzel’s leadership style and said the city’s human resources department had not acted on their complaints about unfair discipline and other issues, the council was told Tuesday night.
Mayor Kenyne Humphrey and Councilman Chris Walsh - the previous police chief - called for an investigation that Walsh said should include city management.
Humphrey and Councilwoman Amanda Huckaby warned they would not tolerate any retaliation against officers by the administration.
Wetzel said he didn’t think the department was facing a crisis of leadership as much as a clash of cultures as he works to move the department in a different direction.
“I think it’s being demonstrated a little bit what the old culture was,” Wetzel said.
The mayor promised due process in any investigation.
Last month, the city manager and Wetzel asked the council to pay $53,000 for an outside review of the department’s workload, structure and culture.
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