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Rawlins police dispatchers honored; department reports rising call activity and staffing updates
Summary
The Rawlins Police Department’s communications team was named dispatcher team of the year at the Wyoming APCO conference; Chief Ward reported October call counts, staffing updates, and two notable emergency incidents including a life-saving resuscitation.
Chief Ward told the council that the Rawlins Police Department communications division — a six-person team — received recognition at the Wyoming Association/Chapter of APCO: the dispatch team won dispatcher-team-of-the-year and Kerrigan Gates earned dispatcher-of-the-year honors.
Chief Ward detailed October activity: 460 911 calls (up from 433 in September), 1,071 telephone calls, and 631 dispatch calls. He highlighted staffing: two of the six dispatchers were absent that evening; the supervisor was ill; the department is down one dispatcher but has applicants moving through the hiring process. Ward praised the team for lifesaving responses, including a November incident at the train depot in which city officers, an off-duty firefighter and EMTs revived a 67-year-old man.
The chief also described a separate incident at a truck stop on Nov. 3 in which a suspect attempted to disarm an officer; that individual was charged and held on $100,000 bond. Ward emphasized the multiple roles dispatchers perform (handling 911, dispatch, and records) and thanked them for their work.
Council and staff applauded the awards and the department’s public-safety work; members asked follow-up questions about staffing and training.
