WYOMING — Kebin W. Haller, deputy director of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), is set to become the next colonel and administrator of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, effective Sept. 21. Haller’s appointment was announced Aug. 21 by WYDOT Director John Cox.
Haller, 48, brings a total of 24 years of policing experience to his new job. He began his law enforcement career as a police officer in Rawlins and has been with DCI in Cheyenne since 1997.
“Haller’s appointment was preceded by a rigorous applicant screening and interview process,” said Cox. “Among those represented in the process were the office of Gov. Matt Mead, the Wyoming Transportation Commission, Wyoming Trucking Association and WYDOT Executive Staff and Human Resources.”
“Kebin has a long and accomplished career in law enforcement,” Mead said. “He grew up in Rawlins and knows Wyoming well. His dedication to public safety and law enforcement makes him a great choice to lead the Highway Patrol.”
“Kebin is well-known to the Highway Patrol and the Wyoming law enforcement community,” Cox added. “He brings a clearly-articulated perspective of accountable leadership and administration and has a proven philosophy and track record of partnerships and shared responsibility, relationship building, leadership development, and recognition of employees,” Cox said.
Haller holds a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from the University of Wyoming, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He is also an executive board member of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), a past president of the Wyoming Peace Officers Association and has served on the Wyoming Public Safety Communications Commission.
“I’m honored and humbled to become a member of the Wyoming Highway Patrol,” Haller said. “My priority will be the employees of the Highway Patrol. I have a strong belief in teamwork and cooperation, both internally as well as externally with our law enforcement and criminal justice partners. The WHP is the front line of defense for highway safety on Wyoming roadways. This is why I am dedicated to serving Wyoming citizens in this capacity.”
Haller, a graduate of Rawlins High School, received an associates of science degree in business from Casper College. He then transferred to UW and through friends, he began to develop an interest in law enforcement and criminal justice, changing his major to administration of justice at the beginning of his junior year. He was also influenced by the fact that one of his grandfathers was a police officer in rural Oklahoma.
He started with the Rawlins Police Department in 1991 and after four years, was promoted to detective and assigned to the DCI Southwest Wyoming Enforcement Team, which is tasked with targeting and apprehending mid- to high-level drug traffickers, with an emphasis on methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other drugs, as well as violent crimes. His experience with the enforcement team was a factor in his decision to join DCI, with which he went on to serve in Green River and Riverton, before being promoted to deputy director and moving to Cheyenne in 2003.
Haller has worked with many law enforcement agencies throughout the state, including the WHP. He fills the vacancy at the top of the Patrol ranks created when Col. John Butler opted for retirement this past June, concluding a 30-year WHP career.
