New Casper Police Chief to Take Over on Monday

A new chief of police will be tasked with running the Casper Police Department next week.

Current operations captain Mark Trimble will formally take over as interim CPD chief on Monday. Trimble says he doesn't anticipate significant changes to the law enforcement agency after the transition is made.

“They’ll be some small changes and adjustments I may make, but, until there’s an official chief put in place, whether it’s me or someone else, any major changes will have to wait until that time,” Trimble said.

Trimble is one of 11 candidates for the permanent chief position. He says his commitment to CPD enticed him to submit an application to be former chief Chris Walsh’s permanent replacement.

“After you do this for so long, and you work your way through the ranks as I have, it’s kind of the natural progression – trying to make your mark on something, make things positive, and keep things moving forward,” Trimble said.

City manager John Patterson plans to name a permanent chief in March. Walsh will retire on Friday after 23 years with CPD.

Trimble says he’s spent the last three year as operations captain – a position which oversees the department's patrol team, the investigation section, the problem-oriented response team and the traffic enforcement section.