My name is Cade Bichel, and I am the Police Chaplain for the Riverton WY Police Department (RPD). Near the end of 2018, I had a wildland firefighter friend ask if I had any chaplain training. His team was rotating off the Camp Fire in CA, that specific fire came with a steep emotional toll, and they were looking for help. It was that question that brought me into the world of law enforcement. I knew the chief of police and asked if I could meet with him. I don't remember exactly how long the meeting was. My memory places it around 5 minutes. I asked if they could use a chaplain, he quickly said yes, then I found myself squeezed into the tiny passenger seat next to a curious officer. That first year, my jeans had a slight grease stain above the left knee from where the laptop mounts continuously rubbed. During my first ride-along, I described what a chaplain does without having the full knowledge of what a chaplain does. I also remember him explaining how to release the "AR" if crap (my word, not his) hit the fan.
I wish I could say that time has altered my memory and moved some details in the timeline, but that is not the case. I soon discovered that Riverton is not the average little sleepy town of 10,000; it is considered the most dangerous town in WY. Thankfully, the standard is Wyoming. However, according to "city-data.com," it does place us in the top 10% of the most dangerous cities in the US. Riverton's police force is commensurate to a town of 10,000 but has a crime rate of a much larger city. After that first ride-along, I can confidently say I had a strong desire to do something even though I had yet to figure out what that entailed.
While attempting to convey what a police chaplain does, I gravitated towards being a resource specifically for the RPD. I would help in any way possible concerning death notifications, or with people who asked specifically for a religious leader, or even talking with anyone threatening suicide. If it in any way made the job of the officer easier, I'd do it. However, I made it abundantly clear that I was a chaplain specifically for the police officer in all my descriptions. Police first, then civilians. So much of what LEOs respond to fits in the "bell has been rung" category. I always laugh at a meme about a quote from Abraham Lincoln; he said you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet. And so, it is either John Steinbeck or Cornel Jeff Cooper who said, "If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck." It is here where I see my value as a police chaplain. It is the officer's job to make sure their response is tactically wise. I believe it is the chaplain's job to provide an environment that allows for emotionally wise responses. This growth is what will enable the officers to, on an emotional level, rise above that fair fight. I cannot stress "provides an environment" strongly enough; emotional growth is voluntary. As a chaplain, I provide as much presence as possible, creating an environment where officers have a choice where one didn't exist before.
The city of Riverton is in the SE corner of the Wind River Reservation, but it is not reservation-owned. While the politics and history of the reservation greatly influence the town, it has two noticeable attributes that impact the city more than any other. First, it is a dry reservation; no alcohol is allowed. As a result, it is not uncommon to see people passed out and sleeping on the streets, asking for money, or stealing. We call them transients, for lack of a better word, but almost every person sleeping on the streets in Riverton has a home. The second is a significant hatred for white people. This one, to be a little blunt, is deserved. The government placed two ancestral enemies on the same reservation in hopes of eradicating one. The unemployment rate for both tribes is in the mid to upper 80s. It is in this environment that our police operate. In my first year, the officers did very little traffic work. They were understaffed, and life was all about responding to calls and paperwork. Thankfully, they are now fully staffed, allowing the freedom to do the police work expected in a smaller town.
The struggle is real; day in and out, they constantly arrest a segment of the same 25-30 people for the same violations. Some have several hundred arrests to their name. Covid certainly complicated the whole process as well. There are usually some significant crimes that coincide with transient alcoholism. When the county jail reduced capacity in response to Covid, several people who should be in jail were out, which gave them the freedom to commit more crimes. This cycle can easily cause a person to question what the point of all of this is. Thankfully, like the rest of the country, we are pulling out of it, and life is getting back to normal. We were able to avoid most of the rioting or protesting other parts of the country experienced. I think that is mainly due to the continued professionalism of the RPD. I believe a solid statement to that effect is that there was no event that was protestable. Unfortunately, it did have a slight demoralizing impact on a police force with no concerns leveled against it.
To be fair, I have not had a large area of comparison to assess my work with RPD. All I can say is that being a chaplain for these officers is one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. I have been able to find several ways to interact with them regularly. Beyond the time spent riding in the passenger seat, I participate in and help find community volunteers for role-playing situations, ranging from involved hostage negotiations to problematic drivers. Basically, I get shot with Simunition rounds (marking cartridges) and have been "arrested" more times than I can count. I am honored to have complete support from both my church and the RPD. If I'm allowed one, my one regret is that I waited until my mid 40's to be a police chaplain.