CHEYENNE – Earlier this month, Captain David Janes of the Cheyenne Police Department celebrated 20 years of dedication to law enforcement with the department.
If you’re from Torrington, you just might recognize the name, Captain Janes is the son of former Torrington Police Chief, Billy Janes. 

The former Chief Janes served on the Torrington Police Department for 30 years before retiring in 2015. In 1973, Chief Janes began his career in law enforcement as a police officer and he successfully climbed the ladder to chief before retiring. After his retirement from law enforcement, the chief continued to work for the City of Torrington, part-time, as city’s safety coordinator until his retirement in the spring of 2023. Through his various titles, Chief Janes, was employed by the City of Torrington for 50 years.

For the Janes family, a career in law enforcement was just simply part of the genetics shared by father and son. 

“There was not a time in my life when I did not know that I wanted to be a police officer,” Captain Janes told the Telegram. “Growing up, I saw the difference my dad made in people’s lives every day and the impact he made on the community.”

As children, we search for role models to look up to, but Captain Janes didn’t need to look very far for a marvel example of a man. 

“I was also heavily influenced by how he (Chief Janes) demonstrated leadership within the department,” Captain Janes said. “I remember Christmas mornings when I would open presents and then ride along with him so he could cover the town, allowing his officers to spend time with their families. He worked diligently to be open and available to the community and was always receptive to questions when he was approached by community members when we were out in public,” he continued.  “I could not have asked for a better mentor in setting the standard of caring for your family and putting others first.”

Captain Janes majored in Human Services with a Law Enforcement concentration at Black Hills State University.

“In my final year in college, I was fortunate enough to be accepted into an internship as a reserve police officer for the Spearfish Police Department and as an EMT for the Spearfish Ambulance Service,” Captain Janes said. “Shortly after graduating, I was hired by the Cheyenne Police Department on December 1, 2003.”

Just like his father, Captain Janes, has worn many hats during the 20 years of service with the Cheyenne Police Department. The captain has been involved as a K9 handler, D.A.R.E. officer, School Resource Officer, and is a recent graduate of the of the FBI National Academy. 

With 20 years of service there has been 20 years’ worth of memories.

“I have had countless unforgettable memories where I have had the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives,” Captain Janes told the Telegram. “I worked for a few years as a School Resource Officer, where there were several students that I was able to mentor, and I have since run into them as successful adults.  It is so rewarding to run into former students, now as adults, who come up to me and say, ‘You were my D.A.R.E. Officer, or you were my School Resource Officer’. There have been several former students who struggled with decision-making as an adolescent, as many of us do, who I have watched grow into amazing adults doing remarkable things.” 

Coming from the small town of Torrington, Captain Janes sought a hometown-feel, and he was able to find that in Cheyenne. 

“The Cheyenne Police Department is a fantastic department that provides opportunities to try many different aspects of police work.  Cheyenne is small enough that it still feels a little like a small town but large enough that I got the opportunity to participate in several different specialties within the department,” Captain Janes explained. “I loved being a K9 handler.  I had an amazing K9, Kai, who was a Belgian Malinois; we participated in many extensive narcotic investigations, worked on major crime scenes looking for evidence, and worked with children in the schools.”

There have been mountains of memorable times for the captain but working with Kai had its own set of rewards too. 

“On one call for service, he [Kai] quickly located an elderly patient with dementia who had wandered away from her assisted living facility and was hiding,” Captain Jane recalled. “He also tracked two aggravated assault suspects for over a mile in a blizzard finding them in a trailer park in the county.”

Captain Janes has enjoyed his career and every advancement he has made over the years brings a new set of responsibilities, which the captain takes on effortlessly. 

“At the end of 2011, I was promoted to sergeant, supervising many patrol shifts.  In most of these shifts, I supervised 6-8 officers,” Captain Janes said. “Working to mentor, teach, and ensure these officers had everything they needed to succeed was so rewarding. I am very proud that many of the officers I worked to mentor were later promoted into leadership positions themselves. I also enjoy training officers, teaching firearms, de-escalation, leadership, and community policing.”

Eight years later, Captain Janes was promoted to lieutenant in 2019. 

“During this time, we developed a completely different approach to the law enforcement services provided during Cheyenne Frontier Days, significantly decreasing enforcement incidences during the week,” Captain Janes explained. 

“In 2021, I was promoted to Captain. I am currently responsible for the Services Division of our department,” Captain Janes explained. “I am humbled every day by the fantastic work our employees do, and I am so fortunate to be able to help ensure they have everything they need to succeed.  I enjoy working with other agencies and organizations in developing programs to serve our community better.  I also enjoy working with our other department leaders, the mayor, and our governing body to improve our department overall and explore new innovative ways to serve Cheyenne.  It is and enjoyable challenge to take a broader look at crime and try to develop new ways to prevent crime,” he added. “We are working diligently to design our approach to crime prevention and enforcement around evidence-based practices.  With regular analysis of crime and crime patterns, we are able to more effectively deploy resources to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in Cheyenne.”

Captain Janes takes extensive pride in the community he calls home.

“I love working for the Cheyenne community and the Cheyenne Police Department. I am blessed beyond measure to have an amazing, supportive wife, Kelly, and three remarkable girls, Hannah (16), Abby (13), and Olivia (12),” Captain Janes told the Telegram. “I have been so fortunate to have gained such amazing experience and training over the last 20 years. Having reached the ability to draw retirement under the Wyoming Retirement System and recently obtaining a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Wyoming, it seems there are many opportunities for my future. However, I would love to have the opportunity someday to apply to lead a law enforcement agency and have the ability to affect an even greater positive impact on my community while doing what is best for my family,” he continued.

Captain Janes attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia in 2022 and graduated in the 283rd session with 235 fellow police officers from 49 states and the District of Columbia.  

“The FBI National Academy is a fantastic program where police leaders from around the world can meet, collaborate, and attend classes related to modern law enforcement accredited through the University of Virginia,” Captain Janes told the Telegram. “I took classes such as Contemporary Issues in Police and Media Relations, Managing Organizational Change, Contemporary Issues Confronting Law Enforcement Executives, Emerging Technology in Law Enforcement, and Emotional Intelligence.” 

According to Captain Janes, less than 1% of law enforcement professionals get the opportunity to attend the FBI National Academy, and most officers have a long wait period. 

“I waited three years to be selected after applying,” Captain Janes explained. “I still communicate with police executives from my classes regularly and have been able to seek input on local programs from these great leaders. I earned a Graduate Certificate in criminal justice from the University of Virginia while attending the National Academy.”

“I’m very proud of him (David). It’s amazing how time flies. It seems like yesterday he started there (Cheyenne Police Department), and he’s gone up through the ranks,” Chief Janes told the Telegram. “He attended the FBI academy which I thought was amazing too.” 

Both Chief Janes and Captain Janes attended the national academy. 

“It’s one of those things In Torrington, you didn’t get to chance to go when you wanted to go,” the former chief explained. “You kind of had to go when they had an opening, and you were nominated to attend.” 

The time Chief Janes was nominated to attend the FBI National Academy just happened to be the same time his son was predicted to be born. 

“My wife and I discussed it, and we decided that I would go (to the academy) I would either fly back or she would fly out there (Quantico) if David was born while I was there,” Chief Janes said. “It ended up that I was there, and it was my last week.” 

“Funny thing was, it was real really in the morning when she called me, and we decided at that time to name him Jason. She called me and we talked. It ended up that she decided to change his name to David,” Chief Janes told the Telegram. “She ended up coming out there to Quantico.”

“He has grown up into an amazing young man,” Chief Janes said. 

The former chief Janes hopes he set a good example for his son, in life as well as in his career of law enforcement. 

“My goal was to treat everybody with compassion and to create a good working relationship and I think that is what we did,” Chief Janes explained. 

“My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place - police, firefighters and members of our armed forces,” Sidney Sheldon, a 1930s American writer, once said. 

“If you want to make a difference and help people, there is no better career,” Capitan Janes said. “The job can offer excitement like very few others while responding to high-stress critical incidences; it can be heartbreaking while helping people experiencing horrible tragedies, and it can be amusing while dealing with situations so far out of the normal there are no words to explain them. It can be gratifying to see the difference you can make. I have worked in law enforcement since I was 21 years old and could not imagine doing anything different,” he continued.