Captain Don Hollingshead has worked as a Laramie County Sheriff’s deputy for over 25 years. He is a positive, natural leader who has kept his sense of compassion and dedication, even when seeing the worst of human behavior. In recent years, Captain Hollingshead took charge of the detention center in Laramie County (the only place for adult incarceration in the entire county).
When COVID-19 hit, few were thinking about the danger to the Laramie County detention center deputies and the inmates. Captain Hollingshead was doing so. He immediately understood the possibility for spread in that environment and instituted cautious measures to protect his employees and those in detention. Captain Hollingshead continues to keep on top of new information through contacts with the Laramie County Health Department and keeping abreast of information made available through the CDC.
To reduce spread among the inmates, Hollingshead implemented a quartine system. Recent arrestees with no signs or symptoms of COVID are held apart for 14 days before being integrated into the general population. New inmates who either show signs or symptoms or, after stringent screening, divulge they have been exposed to someone they believe had COVID-19 were held similarly in a separate area.
In the last nine months, only two inmates have tested positive after entering the jail. Thankfully the procedures in place contained the virus to just those inmates. Neither of the two COVID-19 positive inmates entered the general population of the detention facility. For employees, Captain Hollingshead takes every staff member’s temperatures as they come into the facility to start their workday. Hollingshead mandates that staff wear the appropriate PPE all the time, but if someone comes in that may have COVID-19, they wear a higher level of PPE for their safety. He fosters an atmosphere where staff feel comfortable to take time off to care for themselves and family as needed. In a county where there was opposition to mask-wearing, Captain Hollingshead stood firm to ensure the safety of those he was responsible for. His diligence has been acknowledged by those in the community managing the pandemic. WARM (Wyoming Association of Risk Management) asked for his procedures and sent them to entities around the state and other governmental risk management entities in the U.S. The Laramie County Health Department provides the guidelines in responding to requests from other agencies on guidance for COVID-19 safety.
Captain Don Hollingshead is in a position in law enforcement that rarely has the opportunity to be recognized. Our community and those who serve our community in the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department are safer because of Captain Don Hollingshead’s heroic efforts in a time of crisis.
