Panel urges state memorial committee to add slain undercover officer Michael Rose

Chairman Washut introduced House Joint Resolution 5, a nonbinding resolution that asks the Wyoming law‑enforcement memorial committee to include Officer Michael (Mike) Rose on the Wyoming Law Enforcement Memorial. The chairman summarized the 1978 events: Rose, an undercover officer subpoenaed to a statewide grand jury, was later killed after being summoned to meet officers in a car; the incident led to a prosecution and trial but no conviction.

A former investigator and later U.S. attorney who worked on the inquiry testified in support and recounted the political environment at the time, the grand jury investigation and his view that Rose’s name was omitted in error from the state memorial. The witness noted Rose’s name does appear on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., and on a national memorial webpage, and urged the committee to correct the omission.

Representatives who spoke in favor framed the resolution as a statement that an officer who died in the line of duty should be memorialized; members closed public comment without extended debate.

A roll call recorded 7 ayes and 2 excused; the nonbinding resolution passed the committee and will be carried to the floor.