(Lander, WY) – Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski traveled to Lander last Tuesday to present Lander Police Department Chief Kelly Waugh with a congratulatory letter from FBI Director Kash Patel for his efforts in leading the LPD.
SAC Koldjeski presented the recognition letter to Chief Waugh in a meeting also attended by LPD Captain Levi Martson, Mayor Missy White, FBI Denver Field Office Public Affairs Officer Vikki Migoya, and selected media. (Mayor White explained at the City Council meeting later that night that there are “rules from the FBI about being in public (with elected officials),” which is why the presentation was not conducted during the June 16 council meeting.)
Chief Waugh began the recognition meeting by singing the praises of Justin Kempf, the Supervising Agent for the FBI Lander Office, whom Waugh called “a huge asset” to the LPD in terms of the joint partnership between the agencies.
“Justin and I have sat in a handful of meetings on coming together with joint partnership, how much the feds can benefit us and how we can do the same for them in return,” Waugh said. “We’re working some stuff right now with potential part-time TFO’s (Task Force Officers)…” Waugh added that Kempf has been “instrumental” in terms of “providing opportunities for (LPD) staff to work hand in hand with the FBI to give them the exposure and experience that they probably aren’t going to see inside the city.”
SAC Koldjeski stressed the importance of having the TFO’s.
“I’m a huge proponent of task forces and task force officers,” she said. “I can honestly say that when I was working as a case agent, I never made a case that went to prosecution without the help of my local and state partners ever. You just can’t do it. If we didn’t have our task force officers in the Bureau, we wouldn’t be nearly as successful as we are.”
“…You guys (the LPD) can help out with local and state laws that we might not be able to charge, and when we’re looking at a case holistically, a lot of times we might not get to a federal charge because the U.S. Attorney’s Office might decline the case, but we could still take in state,” SAC Koldjeski explained. “Or say we can’t get up on a federal wire, but we might be able to get up on a state wire, and then we can still work the investigation jointly. Because at the end of the day, our job is to put violent criminals, terrorists, spies, et cetera, in jail and bring justice to victims. …And then we’re also able to provide training and resources to your department.”
“What I always like to say when I’m talking to chiefs or commanders from local and state entities is when you give us a TFO, we give you an entire organization back,” SAC Koldjeski continued. “You have a squad now, right, that can help you, and that’s a force multiplier for your department, especially being a smaller department.”
Chief Waugh echoed the importance of the partnership, and cited two incidents last year where the LPD and he FBI worked collobarotively; the suspicious device that was found along the Popo Agie River Walk and the hoax bomb threat made toward the Wyoming Catholic College.
“The FBI was instantaneously there, your agents were there and offering anything and everything,” Chief Waugh said. “The analyst side of it, the research side of it, the outreach that you guys can get faster than we can was absolutely integral in resolving those issues fairly quickly.”
Chief Waugh also shared that LPD officers have pertnered with the FBI on ALERRT classes, which stands for Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. ALERRT “teaches and trains officers on how to respond to active shooter, active threat situations within schools or any other kind of place in public, mass gatherings…” Chief Waugh explained.
“It teaches the approach, and it teaches the entry and the post-mission debriefs and what we’re going to do afterward,” Captain Martson added. “It gives a full spectrum of start to finish for officers who may or may not have ever seen that or know what to do.”
“When it comes to the ALERRT training… we’re huge proponents of hosting those trainings and making sure that everybody knows what their respective roles are when they get boots on the ground,” SAC Koldjeski said. “But also when we’re training together – not only ALERRT, but any sort of mission – …everything works out so much better because then when something does go boom, or we have a mass casualty situation, I’m not meeting you for the first time. …I know what your capabilities are. I know what your strengths are. I know what your weaknesses are as well, and you know what ours are, then we can come together and capitalize on that.”
Mayor White added that although many residents may feel Lander is in an “idyllic bubble” and “kind of Mayberry in many ways,” she is thankful that this training is happening in the event of serious situations.
“There is actually more happening behind the scenes, and LPD does a great job of catching people behaving poorly quickly,” Mayor White said. “So I appreciate that. But we are a highly mobile society, and someone with ill intent can come from someplace else to Lander in short order, and that’s simply part of our new reality now… I appreciate the attention that’s being given to more significant events. It could happen here. I sure hope it never does…”
The importance of connecting with the community was also stressed, with Migoya reminding that folks can call 1-800-CALL-FBI with any questions or tips about crimes in our community.
“Our office is a mile away from here… so we get walk-ins there as well where people, if they have information, just like the police department, they can come in and give information or call the FBI office in Lander,” SAC Koldjeski added. “We have a duty agent on duty all the time, 24-7, 365.”
The Lander FBI office is located at 980 12th Street, and can be reached by phone at (307) 335-7559.