Two years ago, what began as an arrest for public intoxication outside of the Riverton Walmart ended with Andy’s Antelope’s death at the hands of the Riverton PD and a still unnamed officer.
Andy, a 58-year-old Northern Arapaho man, simply wanted to finish his meal and be left alone. On that day the unnamed Riverton police officer felt the need to force Andy to comply rather than attempting to de-escalate the situation. It is alleged that Andy struck the officer with a knife, but due to Andy’s previous medical conditions and his level of intoxication that day, he was not physically capable of posing a lethal threat to anyone – especially an officer wearing an armored body vest. Rather than attempting to use a non-lethal method, the officer shot Andy, while still holding on to Andy’s wrist, in the head.

After reviewing the report from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Fremont County Attorney Patrick Lebrun announced that the officer’s use of lethal force was appropriate under Wyoming state law. Lebrun declined to charge the officer, and his name has not been officially released to the public. Despite continues calls from the community, Fremont County has not allowed a public inquest into Andy’s death. Unnecessary violence against Indigenous people is a common occurrence and the lack of desire to seek justice for Indigenous people is nothing new.

Questions from Andy’s family and the community have largely gone unanswered. That is unacceptable and we demand action.

We demand an Inquest for Anderson Antelope.

We demand a special response team be created to interact with people suffering from mental illness or people who are temporarily rendered incapable of rationally responding to police orders or demands due to alcohol or drug consumption.

We demand all Riverton police officer who are deployed in such a manner as to likely cause contact with the public should be required to wear body cameras at all times without stopping or deleting recordings.

We demand all police vehicles that are deployed in such a manner that are likely to cause contact with the public should be required to have surveillance cameras/dash cameras.

We demand that unless the public safety or the safety of the officer would be compromised, an officer should be required to attempt to de-escalate the dangers of a given situation to allow a non-lethal resolution rather than lethal encounter.

We demand measures be put into place to insure police cannot be allowed to opt for lethal force when non-lethal methods are available to effectively resolve the situation without endangering the safety of the public, the individual and the officer.

To renew the public’s trust in the Riverton Police Department, the police officer responsible for Andy Antelope’s death should not be working at the Riverton Police Department or any Fremont County law enforcement agency.