Meet Daron L. Wyatt

Candidate for Albany County Sheriff

~ Real Experience – Proven Leadership ~

I was born a twin to a 16-year-old unmarried mother who already had a one-year-old at home. We were immediately placed for adoption and were adopted when we were five weeks old. Our parents later entered the mission field, and in 1979, four days before our 12th birthday, we moved to Swaziland in Southern Africa. We lived in Africa for six years and attended a Christian boarding school in the Republic of South Africa. This was the height of apartheid – essentially legalized racism. That experience helped me appreciate diversity and reject bigotry in all forms.

Our upbringing instilled a deep sense of duty in me and my brother. We both served our entire adult lives in public service. My dad’s favorite Bible verse was Micah 6:8 – “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” I could not think of a more fitting verse to guide me as I embark on this journey. 

My wife, Misty, and I have been married for 31 years. We have two adult children – a daughter who lives in Wisconsin, and a son in Laramie.

We discovered Albany County almost 10 years ago and immediately fell in love with its people and the area. We purchased property west of Laramie and lived there part-time until I retired from full-time policing more than five years ago. Upon moving to Albany County full-time, we embraced our Wyoming lifestyle and have no desire to change it. We want to contribute to maintaining the values that have made Wyoming such a great place to live.

I have spent 36 years working in law enforcement, and my wife served as a criminal court stenographer for 30 years. I have worked for six police agencies, ranging in size from 15 sworn personnel to over 400. Nearly half of my career – 17 years – has been in leadership roles. My assignments have included patrol, gangs, vice, narcotics, SWAT (team member, assistant team leader, and team leader), homicide (four tours), patrol supervisor, field training coordinator, detective sergeant, patrol watch commander, Major Incident Review Team sergeant, Public Information Officer, and cold case detective.

My work as a homicide detective has been featured in more than 30 true-crime television shows, including four episodes of Dateline. I have presented homicide case studies nationwide and have trained more than 3,000 law enforcement officers in areas such as gang investigations, homicide investigations, conflict resolution, field training officer programs, undercover operations, law enforcement response to terrorism, command officer response to terrorism, and drug and alcohol awareness.

I am a certified Type 1 Public Information Officer and am one of approximately 100 FEMA – designated Master Public Information Officers in the country. Over the past eight years, I have responded on more than 30 major disasters across the western United States, including historic wildfires in California, Washington, and New Mexico.

I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration, and a Master of Arts degree in Behavioral Science. I have completed more than 3,500 hours of advanced law enforcement training in criminal investigations, critical incident resolution, and police leadership.

In addition, I own and operate two businesses in Albany County: a woodworking and laser engraving business, and a consulting business that handles pre-employment background investigations for local law enforcement. Over the past five years, I have completed more than 300 of these investigations, and I understand the high hiring standards necessary to maintain public trust.