I have been married to a WHP Trooper for eight years, and he has faithfully served the agency for far longer than that. When we were dating, he quite literally almost died on the job, and even as his girlfriend, I found myself face-to-face with the reality that I would be marrying a man who gave 110% to a job that was dangerous, thankless, merciless, and underpaid. I married him knowing that he did this out of loyalty and bravery, and I love him all the more for it.
Since then, I have watched the WHP agency decline at an alarming pace. I have watched him called out at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., driving icy, unplowed highways to remote stretches of Wyoming that no other law enforcement agency will cover. I have watched him cover areas more than three hours away, just to handle a simple deer crash because WHP was so understaffed they had no one else. I have watched him run ragged by 50 and 60 hour weeks with ever growing demands, training, responsibilities, and commands with little to no pay raise.
Our only consolation — compensation, really — was overtime. In exchange for giving his heart and soul to this state, he was at least able to provide for his family in an economic climate that is crushing middle-class families. He would do anything for his family, and he is proud to provide for us.
In December, we were told quite suddenly that the agency had so badly mismanaged their funds, that they had no money left for overtime whatsoever. This has caused a wave of Troopers to leave, and the roads are now unmanned for hours at a time. This is a public safety crisis that could leave citizens stranded, crashes unattended, and emergencies delayed in one of the most dangerous driving states in the country. My husband is forced to work strange hours that affect our family life, and the resulting pay cut because of the loss of overtime is in the thousands.
WHP has not put Wyoming citizens first when they chose to have the roads unmanned for hours at a time.
WHP has not put Troopers first by piling on demands, responsibilities, and blame without proper monetary compensation and recognition.
WHP has not put Troopers’ families first by giving the Troopers unreliable work schedules and forcing them to take pay cuts.
I want my husband to quit this agency because WHP leadership has shown, through its choices, that it values administrative hierarchy over frontline service, budget optics over safety, and command authority over the people who actually patrol Wyoming’s roads. Wyoming deserves better, and so do the Troopers who protect it.
The Wife of a WHP Trooper…