New Lovell Police Chief Haney brings experience, local ties to the job

Roger Haney was sworn in as the new Lovell Police Chief in January of this year, but he is not new to the community, not by any means.

Haney grew up in Lovell. He attended and graduated from Lovell schools and worked his way up through the ranks of local law enforcement, starting as a part-time officer with the Lovell PD in 2008. The job in Lovell gave him the opportunity to attend the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas as part of his on-the-job training. 

Being in law enforcement is something Haney was interested in from an early age. As an elementary school student, he recalls drawing a picture and noting on the picture that he wanted a black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (like the one in the then popular police series Smokey and the Bandit), and he wanted to be a police officer.

Haney continued as a Lovell police officer until opportunity knocked again, in 2012, when a full-time sheriff’s deputy position became available at the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Dept. Haney took the position, where he continued working for the next five years under Sheriff Ken Blackburn. 

Yet another opportunity for career advancement presented itself in September of 2017, when Haney was offered a position as sergeant with the Lovell Police Dept. As sergeant, Haney oversaw all patrol functions, including training and scheduling officers.

After a short sabbatical, when he moved to Las Vegas for nine months, Haney returned to his hometown and to the Lovell PD once again, setting him up for a career opportunity of a lifetime. With around 17 years of law enforcement experience and training under his belt, Haney had the expertise, reputation and respect of the community to be a prime candidate for the position of police chief, when former chief Dan Laffin retired.

“It was probably some divine intervention,” explained Mayor Tom Newman, who is responsible for appointing the chief. “He was exactly the person we needed, at exactly the right time. All the cards were put in place, and everything just lined up perfectly.

“One of the key things needed for this position is being a public person. Roger might seem a little quiet and reserved, but he’s also very well known and well respected, and that goes a long way. He’s willing to jump in whenever he’s needed, and if that means jumping in a trench with a shovel, he’s more than willing to do that.”

After serving as interim chief for only a few short weeks, Haney was appointed to the position and sworn in by Mayor Newman on January 9, 2024.

Haney acknowledged the wealth of professional experience he gained working under former Chief Laffin.

“As I told him at his retirement party, the bigger city experience he had as a detective and his ability to investigate brought huge change to our small-town police department,” Haney said. “His commitment to teaching other officers had a big impact. We plan to continue with that professionalism and pass it on to new officers in the future.”

“The decision to appoint Roger to the chief position was a no-brainer,” explained Lovell Town Administrator Jed Nebel. “I think different agencies have different philosophies, but ours is to build an agency where we have people trained to be the next one to step up, so there can be a flawless transition.

“He’s got plenty of experience with Lovell PD and the sheriff’s office. He’s very well known around the county, both north and south, and he has a level-headedness and strong sense of community policing that fits for the town of Lovell.”

Haney, who frequently takes a patrol shift himself, likes to form good relationships with citizens whenever he can. He brings a strong element of community policing to the department, which has been easy to incorporate since he and all the officers currently working under him grew up in the area. 

“We know just about everyone in town, and we work hard to get to know the rest,” Haney said. “I think it helps to get to know people. I think it helps in many cases to diffuse things later. When people know you, and trust you, they will talk to you.”

“He has no problem getting in there and doing the work,” said Nebel. “He’s the type of leader that would never ask his people to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He has his thumb on the pulse of this community. He knows what makes it tick, so it’s been a flawless transition. Obviously, he’s a lot different than Dan, but I think their styles complement each other a lot. I think what Dan did when he was here was fantastic, and I think now having Roger carry that torch will build on what we have.”

With spring just around the corner, Haney has been asked by the town council to make ordinance enforcement a priority, especially weed and junk car enforcement.

“I think just making it (ordinance enforcement) a priority is going to make a difference,” said Nebel. “Whenever our officers have time, they will just deal with it. I don’t think there’s a magic formula. I think it’s just a matter of getting out there and doing it.”

Nebel said the town has streamlined the ordinance so once a property owner has been notified, they are on notice for six months.

“The police don’t have to give you notice every two weeks now,” he explained. “Once you’ve been cited, you continue being cited for six months after that. I think that will free up a lot of the officer’s time.”

Newman added that people who are physically unable to maintain their property should come forward and work with the town to find solutions.

“I think the first thing people should do is talk to us and explain their situation,” he said. “I suspect we could find faith-based groups and maybe even some teen groups, like the Boy Scouts, that are looking for a community service project who might be willing to help.

“I think the worst thing we can do is ignore it, because that just leads to frustration and embarrassment and resentment for the person who is not following the ordinance. It creates bad relationships and even puts our law enforcement officers in danger, because any time you approach someone on their property, it can escalate to a volatile situation. And, for weeds, it should never be that way.”

Newman added that, with the police department short-staffed by two officers, hiring more officers is also a priority for Haney.

“We’re trying to do some things to make the job a little more interesting financially to work with the people we’re trying to bring on, while still working within the budgets and the constraints that we have,” explained Newman.

Haney said he plans to implement these priorities along with the on-going enforcement of felonies related to illegal drugs and violent crimes.