The Wyoming police officer wounded in a shootout on Sunday has been identified.
The police officer wounded in a shootout on Sunday is an Army veteran who has been with the Casper Police Department for three years, Police Chief Keith McPheeters said Tuesday.
Officer Jacob Carlson, 27, remained in critical condition at the Wyoming Medical Center where he was being treated for multiple gunshot wounds to his legs, chest and back. He has undergone multiple surgeries and needed many units of blood over the past few days, McPheeters said.
“We are proud of Jacob and the strength he exhibits in this critical fight, and we are awed and humbled by his obvious participation in the healing process,” he said in a statement. “Although Jacob has not been able to communicate with his family, we look forward to being able to make him aware of all that is being done on his behalf.”
Carlson has a wife and young son, according to the department.
The name of the other officer involved has not been released.
Casper police say the shooting occurred Sunday afternoon when a man fired at Carlson and another officer who were called to check on a vehicle in a vacant lot. The officers returned fire and killed the man, identified as David P. Wolosin, 38, of Casper.
Few other details about the shootout or Wolosin have been released.
Witnesses reported seeing two children in the vehicle with Wolosin, but police statements on the shooting have not mentioned any children.
Casper police spokesman Detective John Hatcher referred questions about the children to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, which is investigating the shooting. DCI commander Matt Waldock declined Tuesday to release any details, citing the ongoing investigation.
Waldock did say that investigations into shootings involving police officers typically take four to six weeks to complete. The findings from the Casper investigation will then be turned over to District Attorney Mike Blonigen in Casper, who will determine whether the officers’ actions were justified, Waldock said.
