The first enrolled Northern Arapaho officer hired by the Riverton Police Department is suing the department alleging racial discrimination, retaliation and the perpetuation of a hostile workplace.

Former RPD Detective Billy Whiteplume’s civil complaint filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming asks for a jury trial, judgment in his favor and monetary compensation for damages stemming from his resignation, which his complaint attributes to the department’s handling of work conflicts.

The complaint alleges that Whiteplume witnessed the department engaging in racially discriminatory practices and complained about those Jan. 4, 2022.

“The Department (released) a Native American male, wearing only his underwear, into the snowing/sleeting, freezing weather,” says the complaint.

Whiteplume complained to his supervisor, RPD Detective Sgt. Eric Smits, about the incident and as far as Whiteplume knew, Smits didn’t address the alleged discrimination, the complaint says.

Whiteplume started a clothing program with his money “to address similar incidents,” the complaint says.

Numerous transient and sometimes homeless people frequent Riverton’s streets and public places. Many of these are Native American. Some have told Cowboy State Daily they have homes and come to Riverton to drink, hang out and avoid their families; whereas some have said they do not have homes.

Reaching Out

In the late winter or spring of 2022, then-RPD Chief Eric Murphy (who has since resigned) reportedly approached Whiteplume and asked Whiteplume to reach out to the executive branch of the Northern Arapaho Tribe to coordinate a meeting between the tribal government, Riverton’s mayor and city administrator, and Murphy.

Whiteplume contacted the tribal government, the Northern Arapaho Business Council, which he says did spark a dialogue between the governing entities.

Smits “verbally reprimanded” the detective for these efforts, and Whiteplume objected to the reprimand, the complaint alleges.

That summer, Whiteplume reportedly told RPD that a dangerous person had escaped from the Wyoming Correctional Facility — presumably the local honor farm — and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs had told Whiteplume that the escapee was fleeing.

Smits reprimanded the detective again, saying he was inciting panic, the complaint alleges, adding that the detective once again objected to the reprimand.

In autumn 2022, Whiteplume noticed a large group of homeless or transient Native American people outside in the freezing weather and snow. He started volunteering to address the problem, including by working to get these people into living facilities so they wouldn’t freeze to death as others have in Riverton, the complaint says.

On Nov. 7, 2022, RPD sent Whiteplume to investigate the case of a Native man who’d frozen to death.

‘Outreach Role’

Whiteplume then started working with several Wind River Indian Reservation-based programs to help the transient or homeless Native Americans, says the document.

His complaint says he viewed his work as part of his RPD outreach role.

On Nov. 18, 2022, Smits reportedly reprimanded Whiteplume for helping transient people all day and neglecting his duties. The lawsuit says the supervisor told Whiteplume there were complaints about him spending too much time on the “homeless issue,” but he didn’t produce specific complaints.

Smits reportedly told Whiteplume to stop working with transients or homeless people.

Once again, Whiteplume objected to being reprimanded, the complaint says.

On Nov. 21, 2022, an RPD Capt. Wes Romero alleged Whiteplume was helping transients on department time rather than his own time in a meeting which Whiteplume’s complaint characterizes as hostile and demeaning.

Around that time, Romero became interim captain. Romero and Smits continued to reprimand Whiteplume, which he alleges they did without legitimate reasons.

Whiteplume believed the department wasn’t doing enough to help Native transients, and he reportedly viewed the department’s chastising of him as discriminatory and retaliatory.

The Drumming Incident

In late 2022, RPD School Resource Officer Scott Christoffersen walked into Whiteplume’s office, picked up a pen on his desk and started drumming on a peanut can with it in a motion matching the drumming of Native American customs in which Whiteplume also participates, the complaint says.

“Is this why you have this?” asked Christoffersen.

Whiteplume viewed the action as offensive and insulting to his faith and culture.

“Are you for real?” asked Whiteplume, reportedly telling the officer twice to leave his office.

The complaint says Whiteplume reported the incident to Smits, but the latter didn’t act on his report.

Some days later, Whiteplume told Smits he wanted no contact with the school resource officer. He then met with both Smits and Christofferson’s supervisor to report Christoffersen’s drumming incident, the document says, adding that Whiteplume asked the officer’s supervisor to keep Christoffersen away from him.

Later, Whiteplume’s own supervisor asked Whiteplume to “smooth things over” with Christoffersen, a request the complaint characterizes as unfitting since Christoffersen allegedly sparked the conflict with his drumming and his comment.

Whiteplume met with the human resources director about the drumming incident. A week passed, and the department took no action against Christoffersen, reportedly.

Whiteplume viewed the department’s conduct as intolerable and subjecting him to a discriminatory and hostile work environment. He gave his two weeks’ notice.

The HR director urged Whiteplume to speak with Christoffersen about the conflict, and said HR would take further action if this sort of action happened again, the complaint says.

The filing indicates Whiteplume did not go and talk to Christoffersen about it, saying, “Whiteplume’s responsibilities and duties did not include disciplining or counseling SRO Christoffersen.”

Whiteplume told the HR director he didn’t feel safe around Christoffersen; she reportedly told him he could work his last two weeks at home, and he could file a grievance.

But when she left a letter on his desk recounting the drum incident, Whiteplume viewed the letter as “downplaying” the incident and calling it “tapping the drum,” says the complaint.

Smits reportedly told the detective he wasn’t supposed to work on his cases at night at home, but to close his cases while in the office.

“This directive made Mr. Whiteplume uncomfortable because he would have to be around people who made him uncomfortable,” says the complaint, listing Smits, Christoffersen and Romero.

Romero called Whiteplume the next day and told him he needed to return to work or he wouldn’t be paid, the complaint says, adding that Whiteplume stayed home anyway because he didn’t feel safe amid the “hostile work environment (that) was increasing in severity.”

The Ask

The complaint alleges three civil violations against RPD: unlawful retaliation in response to protected actions, racial discrimination and harboring a hostile work environment in violation of federal employment law.

Whiteplume is asking for the following:

• A jury trial.

• For the court to enter judgment against RPD finding it in violation of federal law.

• Money damages for back pay, restored benefits, loss of wages, salary, retirement, all loss of income.

• Compensatory damages for emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, future monetary losses and loss of compensatory damages.

• Reinstatement or front pay.

• Attorney fees and costs.

• Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.

• For the court to direct RPD to change its alleged “unlawful employment” practices.

• To award Whiteplume any other proper relief.

RPD Chief Eric Hurtado did not respond to a message request for comment by publication time Tuesday. Capt. Wes Romero said the department likely would not be able to comment on pending litigation and referred Cowboy State Daily to Riverton City Attorney Rick Sollars.

Sollars’ receptionist informed Cowboy State Daily Sollars does not comment to the media.

Lander-based attorney Kate Strike, of Stanbury and Strike, is listed as Whiteplume’s attorney on the complaint.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming! I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom, for Tuesday, April 23rd. 

Wyoming’s Grizzly 399 is the most famous bear on the planet and has the world on edge each spring, wondering if and when she’ll emerge from hibernation — and she’s done it again.

Grizzly 399 was spotted late Sunday with her huge cub in tow, according to outdoors reporter Mark Heinz.

“This is remarkable. She is 28 years old, which is quite old for a grizzly, especially for a grizzly with a cub. But, you know, the cub, Spirit, has about a year before he’s ready to strike out on his own, and people seem pretty convinced that she seems to be healthy enough that she’s gonna live at least long enough to get that cub raise to maturity.” 

Grizzly 399 gained fame and huge social media followings through her habit of taking her cubs to highly visible areas near roadsides in Grand Teton National Park.

—

Before the story of a tormented wolf story flashed viral a few weeks ago — the one where a local man entered a local bar with a barely breathing wolf with its muzzle taped shut to show off how he had dropped it with a snowmobile — Daniel, Wyoming, was a sleepy place to get a hot dog and beer in the local bar. 

Now it is dealing with international outrage, reports Cowboy State Daily’s Pat Maio, who visited the sleepy Sublette County town over the weekend.

“The purpose of my story was not to look at the the incident of this ugly event. My purpose was to paint a picture of what is Daniel, what is what is here. And, and the impression I got is that it’s a wonderful community. People love it… So yeah, the people up here are really torn. They’re, they’re upset. It’s a raw nerve, the whole issue and that this wolf incident has touched you and I feel for the people. There’s a lot of really super, super nice people, but they’re, they’re upset. They’re hurt. You know, they want it all to go away.” 

Many wouldn’t speak to the press on the record, and are angry that they are having to defend the reputation of the Upper Green River Valley. He said the people who live in the area feel divided over the issue.

—

A Pinedale railroad engineer is suing Union Pacific, claiming he was hurt — maybe permanently — when an artificial intelligence-powered train driver malfunctioned, causing a train wreck.

Now in a civil complaint filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming, 51-year-old Andrew Kirol is accusing the railroad of negligence, and of violating the federal Locomotive Inspection Act, according to crime and courts reporter Clair McFarland.

“he’s saying that he was forced under threat of discipline to man, this locomotive were at the very least the center locomotive in the train was powered by a computer that’s supposed to learn to navigate terrain by AI. But the the middle locomotive when faced with a hill decided to speed up whereas the front locomotive decided to slow down and he’s alleging that’s no competent human locomotive operator would have done it that way. And so the, the middle part of the train rear ended him he was in the front locomotive, he alleges that he was knocked around and has suffered ongoing injuries.”

The Union Pacific Railroad told Cowboy State Daily in response to a Monday request for comment that it will review this lawsuit once officially served with it.

—

For Wyoming hunters, the good news is that the acquisition of a $2.3 million piece of the Mule Creek Ranch could get them better access to an area of Albany County teeming with elk.

The not-so-good news is that it’s about two hours from anywhere, in the far-flung northern reaches of the county. It’s a stretch of mind-boggling vastness that outdoors reporter Mark Heinz says locals call “Little Siberia.”

“It’s really one of the most remote places in Wyoming. People usually don’t think of Albany County as being that all remote, but you get North of Rock River and there’s really a whole lot enough and for quite a long ways… And the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission last week they went ahead and approved the sale of purchasing some land – the Rocky Mountain Elk foundation is going to sell land, they’re going to sell about half of it to the game and fish and half to private landowner. The private landowner is going to keep easements open for elk hunting.” 

The acquisition should create a few more close-to-the road hunting opportunities for elderly hunters or those with mobility challenges, but the vast majority of it will be remote country.

—

And folks in Sublette County don’t give a rat’s whisker about what that back-East groundhog has to say about the changing of the season, or even Wyoming’s prognosticating prairie dog Lander Lil.

That’s because people in the Pinedale area have Bob. Spring hasn’t arrived until Bob the barrel has reached the shores of Fremont Lake, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi.

“It’s a long standing tradition that goes back to at least the 1980s. And it’s just a fun way for the pintail lions to earn a few more bucks for their Sublette county initiatives. … Every year after their annual fishing derby, they place this yellow barrel on the ice. And it just sits there until the ice melts, and eventually the barrel is going to drop through the ice and make its way, float to shore. And so they sell tickets and the person who guesses the correct date and the closest time wins $500.”

For now, Bob continues to sit patiently on the ice in the middle of the Lake. But once the ice has melted enough to allow the bright yellow steel barrel to finally float to shore, Bob’s work is done for another 11 months.

And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming’s only statewide newspaper by hitting the subscribe button on cowboystatedaily.com. I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.

Radio Stations

The following radio stations are airing Cowboy State Daily Radio on weekday mornings, afternoons and evenings. More radio stations will be added soon.

KYDT 103.1 FM – Sundance

KBFS 1450 AM — Sundance

KYCN 1340 AM / 92.7 FM — Wheatland

KZEW 101.7 FM — Wheatland

KANT 104.1 FM — Guernsey

KZQL 105.5 FM — Casper

KMXW 92.5 FM — Casper

KBDY 102.1 FM — Saratoga

KTGA 99.3 FM — Saratoga

KJAX 93.5 FM — Jackson

KZWY 106.3 FM — Sheridan

KROE 930 AM / 103.9 FM — Sheridan

KWYO 1410 AM / 106.9 FM  — Sheridan

KYOY 92.3 FM Hillsdale-Cheyenne / 106.9 FM Cheyenne

KRAE 1480 AM — Cheyenne 

KDLY 97.5 FM — Lander

KOVE 1330 AM — Lander

KZMQ 100.3/102.3 FM — Cody, Powell, Medicine Wheel, Greybull, Basin, Meeteetse

KKLX 96.1 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep, Greybull

KCGL 104.1 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin, Lovell, Clark, Red Lodge, MT

KTAG 97.9 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin

KCWB 92.1 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin

KVGL 105.7 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Basin, Ten Sleep

KODI 1400 AM / 96.7 FM — Cody, Powell, Lovell, Basin, Clark, Red Lodge

KWOR 1340 AM / 104.7 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep

KREO 93.5 FM — Sweetwater and Sublette Counties

KGOS 1490 AM — Goshen County

KERM 98.3 FM — Goshen County

Check with individual radio stations for airtime of the newscasts.