A Thermopolis police officer involved in the town’s first deadly officer-involved shooting has been medically cleared to return to work after an investigation by the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation, according to a statement from the Thermopolis Police Department released on Tuesday evening. He remains on indefinite administrative leave.
Thermopolis Police Sgt. Michael Mascorro was seriously wounded during the incident on April 28, 2023.
According to earlier reports from the Thermopolis Police Department and the Wyoming DCI, the incident occurred when Mascorro approached 33-year-old Buck Laramore at a residence in response to a crime investigation from earlier in the day. During the interaction, the DCI said Laramore pulled a weapon and began firing, wounding Mascorro. Mascorro returned fire and killed Laramore, they said. The department did not mention the death when they first reported that Mascorro had been wounded, according to the Casper Star-Tribune.
Mascorro was transported to Hot Springs Health before being air lifted to the Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his chest, lungs and right arm, according to a GoFundMe page set up by the family. He returned to Thermopolis the following week, according to an update on the page.
“Upon review of the facts and evidence collected by the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation, Special Prosecutor Daniel Erramouspe found no grounds by which to criminally charge Thermopolis Police Sergeant Michael Mascorro in the shooting death of Buck Laramore,” said the Thermopolis Police Department in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening.
According to the Thermopolis Independent Record, Sweetwater County Attorney and Special Prosecutor Daniel E. Erramouspe found that Mascorro illegally broke into Laramore’s home, which then caused the fatal shootout. A Wyoming self-defense provision for law officers prevents any criminal charges against Mascorro, they said.
“This was a completely avoidable incident,” wrote Erramouspe, according to the newspaper. “(Mascorro) felt that breaking into a person’s domicile was the best course of action for the misdemeanor of interference with a peace officer.”
“Sergeant Mascorro is currently on administrative leave for an undetermined amount of time,” said the statement from the Thermopolis Police Department. “The Town of Thermopolis Police Procedures and Policies have been sent to a third party for review.”
According to his obituary, Buck Laramore had a wife and two stepdaughters.
This story was edited from an earlier post with additional information and to clarify the specific clearance by the Wyoming DCI
