Mayor appoints Laffin as LPD chief

Dan Laffin was appointed Lovell Chief of Police by Mayor Angel Montanez on Tuesday night at the regular meeting of the Lovell Town Council. The appointment was approved unanimously by the council.Laffin began working for the police department on a part-time basis in March of this year. He was[caption id="attachment_12332" align="alignright" width="400"] Dan Laffin[/caption]moved up to full-time status as soon as the opportunity arose and was promoted sergeant under former Chief Jason Beal, who left the position recently to take a job with the Wyoming Highway Patrol.Laffin brings a wealth of professional experience in the law enforcement field to the job. Having previously performed a number of different roles in the Killeen, Texas, police department, Laffin served a community with a 150,000 population. As a detective in the Killeen Special Victims Unit, his department saw about 16,000 cases each year. In the course of his duties as an SVU detective, he became a specialist in testimony and was trained to recognize the signs of that type of crime.He said the department in Killeen responded to about 200,000 calls per year and had its own academy, where he taught new officers for about two years. Laffin also has experience in firearms instruction and emergency vehicle operation, as well as experience in drug enforcement.Laffin retired from the military after more than 20 years in the U.S. Army. As a part of that duty, he saw combat four times, each time for more than a year.Laffin and his family moved to the area recently to help his in-laws develop their new business, a vineyard on Cannery Road between Lovell and Cowley.“I am definitely looking forward to a partnership with the community,” said Laffin. “Our department will work hard to make this a safe and secure environment for our citizens.”Montanez made the appointment at the beginning of the meeting, stating, “I believe he brings a lot of experience and training to the department. I think he’ll do a good job.”

By Patti Carpenter