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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

A handcuffed man in the back of a Cheyenne police vehicle allegedly managed to retrieve a gun in his pants and use it to end his own life Sunday morning, the Cheyenne Police Department said Friday. 

The announcement, which came via the department’s Facebook page, didn’t share the dead man’s identity. The Laramie County Coroner’s Office later released a statement identifying the man as Aiden Hall, 22.

The Cheyenne Police Department’s spokesperson hadn’t responded to WyoFile’s inquiries about the in-custody death as of publication.

Cheyenne Police Department Chief Mark Francisco said in the Facebook announcement that the department is “thoroughly evaluating what occurred and will take appropriate steps based on that review.” 

The post didn’t say if an outside agency would be involved in the investigation. Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Commander Ryan Cox told WyoFile on Friday morning that the Cheyenne Police Department hadn’t contacted the division about the incident. 

The Division of Criminal Investigation, which is part of the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office, has no original legal authority to unilaterally investigate in-custody deaths. Local law enforcement may request an external investigation from an entity like DCI, but it’s not required by law. 

Around 1:17 a.m. on Jan. 18, officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle near the intersection of West 9th Street and Deming Drive, the post says. 

When officers arrived, they found a maroon pickup parked on the sidewalk. According to the post, the truck appeared to have hit a guardrail before stopping in a grassy area off the road. 

According to body cameras and in-car video, the post states, officers started searching the nearby area for the driver. During the search, they saw a man, Hall, running along Deming Drive. The officers learned he was the truck owner. 

Hall appeared intoxicated and said he had consumed alcohol, according to the post. Officers detained him and removed a pocketknife from his front pocket before handcuffing him. 

The post doesn’t say whether officers conducted a full search of Hall. 

Officers then seated Hall in a police car and transported him back to the crash scene. Officers then “briefly stepped away” from the police car while Hall was still inside to assess the scene, the post states. The post doesn’t specify exactly how long officers were away from the vehicle, but that they were preparing to start a driving under the influence investigation. 

According to the post, Hall was able during this time to move his handcuffed hands from behind his body to the front and reach a gun that was inside his pants. The post doesn’t clarify why officers didn’t notice that Hall had a firearm. When officers returned to the police car, they allegedly discovered that Hall had used the firearm to shoot himself. 

Officers started to give first aid until medics arrived, but Hall died, the post says. 

“Any in-custody death is a matter of deep concern for our department — this is never the intended outcome when officers respond to moments of crisis,” Francisco said in the Facebook post. 

“Our officers approached this situation with patience and compassion, with the intent of helping the individual.”

This story has been updated.

Maya Shimizu Harris covers public safety for WyoFile. She was previously a freelance writer and the state politics reporter for the Casper Star-Tribune.

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  1. The article states: The Division of Criminal Investigation, which is part of the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office, has no original legal authority to unilaterally investigate in-custody deaths. Local law enforcement may request an external investigation from an entity like DCI, but it’s not required by law.
    Whoa, why wouldn’t everyone involved want to have an independent investigation conducted?
    How can you search an individual, find a pocket knife but not a full size hand gun? and;
    ” When officers returned to the police car, they allegedly discovered that Hall had used the firearm to shoot himself.” Well, just how far from the police car were the officers that they didn’t hear the gun shot? Maybe it’s just poor phrasing from Ms. Harris.
    On the surface it appears that this tragic outcome could have been avoided.
    But, we all should wait until further details are released before forming any conclusions. The one thing that troubles me the most is no mandatory investigation by an independent organization. That needs to be changed.

    Reply

  2. I completely understand the making a mistake while performing your work, but missing a pistol during pat down? That’s a pretty epic mistake.

    Reply

  3. “Handcuffed man uses gun to kill himself in Cheyenne police vehicle, department says”

    Sure he did. :-/
    Very odd, this story seems to happen around the country at least once a year.

    Reply

    1. So the police are incompetent. First fails to find a gun second ledt the prisoner unattended..
      Michelle Aldridge and Ken Esqubil will tell you only the mayor can say the chief has to Go. It is a lie both of them voted 3x to keep the Chief.

      Reply