Torrington Officer Cited

(TORRINGTON, Wyo.) — Transparency is the reason being given for the decision to release information about a recent incident involving an officer of the Torrington Police Department. The following is the press release from the Chief of Police as well as some user comments.

Press Release from Chief Johnson

In the next few weeks, you will likely see the name of one of our police officers in Municipal Court documents for a citation involving a violation of the City of Torrington’s Fireworks Ordinance. I want to take a moment to explain the circumstances involved in that citation.

In the latter part of October 2025, we received information that one of our officers had set off fireworks inside the City Limits at a social event, in violation of municipal ordinance. There were other members of our agency present who were not believed to have been involved in setting off the fireworks.

We contacted the Wyoming Highway Patrol and asked for their assistance in investigating this situation so that the investigation would be completed by another agency and by an investigator who did not regularly serve with the officer(s) involved. WHP graciously assisted and assigned one of their investigators to the case.

Due to the holiday season, and other events around the State, it took some time to complete the investigation. When it was completed, it was found that there was probable cause to cite Officer Nick Jenkins for a fireworks offense under the Torrington Municipal Ordinance. I issued Officer Jenkins a citation for this offense yesterday. The citation is merely an allegation based on probable cause. Officer Jenkins is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

We will be conducting a separate administrative investigation to review the actions of Officer Jenkins and the actions of any other agency employees who were present when this occurred. If violations of Torrington Police Department Policy or City of Torrington Policy are observed, they will be fully addressed through our personnel policies. Personnel records are confidential under Wyoming State Law.

Police officers who have taken a sacred oath to serve their community won’t be perfect, but they must be accountable. We are committed to maintaining that standard in our agency. While I am disappointed in the allegation related to Officer Jenkin’s choices in this situation, I have seen the quality of service that he has offered our community for more than seven years. I do not believe this situation prevents him from continuing to serve honorably. He has my full support, and I ask that you join me in offering him grace for mistakes and support for future service.

Respectfully,

Matt Johnson

Chief of Police

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The following are various user comments from the post on facebook.

Angela Gonzalez – Thank you for taking the time to communicate openly and professionally regarding this matter. I appreciate the transparency in explaining the circumstances, the use of an independent agency for investigation, and the clear distinction made between an allegation and a finding.

Your message reflects a balance that is not always easy to strike—accountability, due process, and respect for the individuals involved, while maintaining public trust in the department. I also appreciate your acknowledgment that officers, while held to a high standard, are human and deserving of fairness and grace when appropriate.

Clear communication like this matters, and I wanted to take a moment to recognize the professionalism reflected in your statement.

Valerie Lamb Sharp – I want to applaud Chief Matt Johnson on his ability to handle this case with transparency to the public and respect for a member of the department. I also appreciate his adherence to the law. We all make mistakes and grace should be offered at every opportunity possible. Mistakes can come with consequences. We all must accept that when we choose to act outside the law. Chief Johnson, thank you for your integrity, transparency and honesty. These are qualities that make up a leader and promote trust. Your department is fortunate to have you in charge as is this community. I don’t know Officer Jenkins personally, but I pray the community shows grace and compassion to him and his family. Humility and acceptance of responsibility will go a long way in this process.

Karen Fyfe Posten – I am for grace, but thank you for the transparency, because, without that, some people would talk about a cover-up. Thank you for all you do!

Allissa Baker – As it states in the post above, I believe grace should be given. However due to my personal experience, I also believe Jenkins being NOT the only officer having been involved, should NOT have been the only one sited. Just because they didn’t light off fireworks, they also didn’t stop him from lighting them off and should take their part into consideration as well. I enjoy the officers we have in this community. They have given grace and their calm and respectful demeanors when handling any situation is amazing. They all need to be held accountable for being involved in every way like there taught to enforce. Sorry this unfortunate situation happened, but he isnt the only one involved and shouldn’t have to stand alone in the consequences.

Eric Blake – This is integrity. You won’t see this very often. As LE you are held to a higher standard. You are supposed to set the example.

I agree that there COULD have been “Officer Discretion” and Chief could have written a warning, or nothing at all, just spoke to Nick. Then we’d never be hearing about this. However, that may have caused another whole “problem” with discussion and lengthy online argument. And cries of special treatment etc.

It takes a lot to recognize that there was a violation, call it out and cite. Now let us let the system work it out. Chief will deal with this on a HR basis as well, so although he may not face jail or public hanging, he will be facing an internal process, and I have confidence that this will result in a fair and honest result.

As noted, we should presume innocence until proven guilty in a court of law.

Nick: Sounds like the community is behind you regardless of the outcome. We all are imperfect and make mistakes. God Knows I have. So no stone throwing here!

This is what transparency, competency, accountability and integrity looks like. We need to be thankful we have Chief Johnson at the helm of TPD.

Laughlin Laughlin – WOW. You must be joking… He is willing to die for any person in this community. So they have a little fun oh no. In a world full of war and riot’s fueled by anger and pure evil. 1 person had fun that’s a head line never seen. It will be soon your community will support you. Thank you kindly, Robert Laughlin

Rich Rhea – I’m no genius, but one thing I do know: There’s the Letter of the Law (in this case guilty) and There’s the Spirit of the Law: In this case just give a warning and LET IT GO. Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along. Peace!