Cheyenne Police Department to internally review in-custody death, alleged abuse of power

CHEYENNE — The Cheyenne Police Department will not involve external entities in the investigation of two high-profile incidents involving its officers that occurred Jan. 17 and 18. Cheyenne Police were involved in an alleged excessive use of force on Victor Urbina and his sons, 20-year-old Jr Urbina and 17-year-old Jason Urbina, and, the next day, in the in-custody death of 22-year-old Aiden Hall, who police said shot himself after being searched and handcuffed by officers.

Though the incidents happened within 24 hours of each other, communication to the public was delayed. CPD did not release a statement regarding the death of Hall until five days later, and has only addressed the allegations of excessive use of force through local media.

“The department does not operate on a fixed timeline for releasing information,” CPD Public Information Officer Alex Farkas told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle via email when asked about the delayed statement about Hall. “Each incident is evaluated based on its own circumstances, with careful consideration given to privacy concerns, investigative integrity, and public safety. In this case, it was important to ensure that any information released was accurate, appropriate, and respectful to those affected.”

The CPD Force Review Board, which meets on the first Thursday of the month, will review the Jan. 17 incident involving the alleged use of force against the Urbinas. 

The in-custody death of Hall, which occurred on Jan. 18, will undergo a separate review process, since it did not involve the use of force by an officer, according to Farkas.

“Any in-custody death or critical incident is taken seriously,” she said via email. “The department conducts a systematic review of the incident, applicable policies, training, and procedures. If the review identifies deficiencies, appropriate corrective action will be taken.”

In-custody death

Both incidents have sparked community pushback, with several individuals questioning the conduct of officers in both situations.

Before CPD released its statement addressing Hall’s death, his family commented online.

“Early morning on January 18th, we received the most devastating news a parent will ever receive,” Hall’s parents posted on Facebook. “Our son Aiden lost his life while in the custody of the Cheyenne Police Department.”

Hall was headed home after a night out and missed a turn, hitting a guardrail, according to his family’s post. He got out of his truck and started to take off. A nearby homeowner contacted the local law enforcement, and CPD was dispatched around 1:17 a.m., according to CPD.

Officers searched and located Hall, who showed signs of intoxication and admitted to consuming alcohol. He was detained, and before handcuffing him, officers removed a pocket knife from his front pocket. Hall was then seated in a police car and transported back to the crash scene.

While Hall was secured in the police car, officers briefly stepped away to assess the crash scene and prepared to begin a driving under the influence investigation.

“Within around a minute, Aiden was able to move the cuffs to the front of his body and pick up the firearm that the police failed to find during the required search and took his life,” Hall’s family’s statement read. “The officers did not check on him after the sound of the gunshot for around three minutes.”

CPD statements did not provide a timeline between the gunshot and the beginning of administering aid, as those details are a part of the investigation. It did, however, state that CPD officers began to administer first aid and continued until medical personnel arrived. Hall was later pronounced dead at the scene.

“Three minutes is a long time to not render aid to a young kid who was scared, never getting into trouble in the past,” Hall’s family’s statement read. “A young man who thought his only out was to take his own life with the 9mm the officer failed to remove from my son’s person.”

Hall’s family questioned how the police could have missed the firearm, but were able to locate the pocket knife. 

“Cheyenne PD has a job to protect; they failed,” the statement read. “My baby lost his life because they failed. They robbed us of a future because of their gross negligence. Aiden should still be here. This was avoidable.”

Cheyenne Police Chief Mark Francisco and Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reid offered their condolences to the family through separate statements. Francisco noted in his statement

that any in-custody death is a matter of deep concern for the department, which is thoroughly evaluating what occurred and will take appropriate steps based on that review.

Use of force

The day before Hall’s death, Victor, Jr and Jason Urbina were arrested by CPD officers after being pulled over during a funeral procession in honor of Kyle Pandullo, who died in December in a motorcycle accident.

Pandullo’s friends and family were meeting in the Sportsman Warehouse parking lot, located at 3745 E. Lincolnway, with the intention of driving to the service at private property outside of town, according to Kyle’s mother, Amanda Pandullo.

During that time, Cheyenne Police officers, Laramie County Sheriff’s deputies and Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers conducted high-visibility traffic enforcement in east Cheyenne.

As mourners left the lot, officers pulled over approximately 20 cars, resulting in several citations, warnings and the arrest of the three Urbinas.

Victor was booked on a misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear on an original charge of no driver’s license and for misdemeanor interference with a peace officer (no injury), and Jr was booked for misdemeanor resisting arrest and refusing to obey.

Videos of the arrest, posted by Jr and his other brother, Joseph Urbina, show a CPD officer kneeing Jr in the chest while he’s held against a vehicle, while two other officers hold Victor to the ground.

Jr and Joseph recalled seeing their father, who has heart-related medical problems, being tased after officers had him in handcuffs. Jr stated he was put under arrest without being given a reason or being read his Miranda rights.

In both cases, the men sustained injuries. Jr suffered extensive bruising from being kneed by an officer, which later warranted a hospital visit. Jr sustained bruising on his ribs, side, left arm and leg.

“It’s all bruised up from where they kneed me,” he said. “... (In the hospital) I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t breathe, I didn’t even know where I was.”

He says he is currently struggling to walk and cannot do his job as a mechanic.

Farkas stated that individuals were being “disruptive to the surrounding businesses, drivers and pedestrians,” and were committing traffic violations that created unsafe conditions.

Amanda Pandullo and other witnesses denied any disruptive behavior. Several stated there was no cause to pull over anyone. Some, including Amanda, stated that they were under the impression that law enforcement was well aware of the funeral, which was publicized online.

“They tainted the funeral procession,” Amanda said. “I made it out, whereas other people didn’t get to make it out when they were supposed to make it out.”

The Urbinas’ arrests will be reviewed internally by the CPD Force Review Board. Farkas told the WTE that “corrective action (against the officers) would occur after the investigation,” if warranted.

The Urbinas and Amanda Pandullo said it is unclear at this time whether they will take any legal action regarding the incident.

This story was published on Jan. 29, 2026.