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    New eyewitness details from Saturday’s officer-involved shooting shared by County Attorney’s Office

    Two Fremont County government agencies released statements today regarding the fatal shooting that occurred Saturday, September 21st, 2019 in front of the Riverton Walmart.

    A statement from the Northern Arapaho Business Council was released Saturday evening. The statement from NABC can be found in our earlier post.

    Riverton Police Department shared today that this event is under investigation with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. County 10 contacted WDCI for a statement and they have “no comment” at this time.

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    The statements are reproduced below in full and reveal new details about the incident which led to the fatal shooting.

    Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun released the following statement today:

    On September 21, 2019, an Officer-involved shooting occurred at the Wal-Mart in Riverton, Wyoming. Agents of the Department of Criminal Investigation have interviewed numerous eyewitnesses.

    According to numerous eyewitness accounts, the Officer was attempting to arrest the decedent for observed violations of law. At that time, decedent drew an approximately 6-inch knife and stabbed the Officer in the center of his chest. However, the Officer’s body armor stopped the knife from penetrating. The decedent continued the assault, with knife in hand, and was shot. He died at the scene.

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    This investigation is ongoing.

    Fremont County Coroner Mark Stratmoen released the following statement today:

    The Fremont County Coroner’s Office is issuing this release in relation to the reported law enforcement involved shooting that occurred on this date in Riverton, on September 21st, 2019 in the area of Walmart. It is the policy of this office to convene a public inquest in the matter of any fatalities caused, or suspected to be caused, by any law enforcement agencies in this jurisdiction. The public should be aware, however, that such incidents are complicated and investigated by multiple agencies. All agencies will require appropriate time to complete their investigations to a point where proper evidence can be presented to an inquest jury. For example, this office facilitates forensic autopsies on any fatalities which require it, and those reports take up to 4 to 5 weeks to complete. Thus, the arrangement for an inquest should not be anticipated for more than a month at the earliest. The jury and public deserve as complete a presentation of evidence and event as possible to arrive at a cause and manner of death. Until such an inquest presentation is made, this office will not issue further comment on the incident or circumstances. An additional notice will be released to inform the public at the time an inquest is scheduled. 

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