Barraza swears in as GPD’s newest officer

    The Glenrock Police Department welcomed their newest officer Jan. 8 as Isaac Barraza took his oath of office at the Town Council meeting. 

Barraza and his wife, Cyan, moved to Glenrock in early December.

He was happy to share a bit about himself with the community. 

“Being born and raised in Southern California, it was not easy to say the least,” Barraza said. 

“My brother decided to join the law enforcement explorer program, which is basically like Boy Scouts but for cops, out in California and started training. When I turned 13, I joined the same program and was an explorer as well.”

Barraza said that his time in the explorer program was formative for him and it went on to shape his life, as the lives of those around him modeled a blueprint of what he wanted to do himself.

“We spent hours and hours and hours of time volunteering, training and getting exposure to go into this kind of field,” Barraza said. “It really built a stronger foundation for us and put a real strong drive into me, you know? It made me determined that 100% – this is what I wanted to do.”

Eventually, Barraza’s ambitions became reality at the age of 19 when he was sworn in as a Department of the Navy federal police officer. He spent some time working as a civilian law enforcement officer on a Navy installation before deciding it was time for a change. 

“My plan was to just be in California. But, the way that everything . . . that the climate has changed towards law enforcement in California just didn’t seem like it was going to be the best move for me,” Barraza said.  

“I started looking elsewhere and I had some buddies already working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) who convinced me to apply. I ended up getting the job, packed up my life into my truck and moved out to Wyoming.”

The BIA is a federal agency under the Department of the Interior, partially tasked to administer law enforcement on Native American reservations. Barraza worked primarily in district five of the Bureau, an area that covers Wind River, Crow and Northern Cheyenne American Indian reservations. 

“It was quite an experience. They like to say that working a year (in) BIA is comparable to working five years anywhere else. Out there, in your first year you’re more than likely going to deal with just about everything you can think of. I dealt with everything from investigations to rapes to every other high priority call you can pretty much think of, short of an active shooter.”

Barraza spent about a year and a half with the BIA and said that he was originally planning to stay longer, but during his time there he met his wife and plans changed. 

“I was planning on staying with the BIA for quite some time but then I got married. Now me and my wife have a kid on the way, so we were looking for something a little slower.

“My wife was a police officer, too – that’s actually how we met. We ended up getting married, she got pregnant and we decided to start looking for someplace to settle down,” Barraza said. “My brother had made the move out here to Casper, so we started looking over here to be closer to our little family support system. We ended up stumbling across (this job) and applied.”

He and his family have been amazed by Glenrock’s hospitality and family centered environment, he said.

“Most of the places that I’ve worked, you know, cops are pretty much associated with only going to jail and writing tickets, so it’s nice to see a community that very much supports their law enforcement. 

“Everybody we’ve talked to has been very welcoming, everyone in the agency and everyone in the town. Whatever the context, even when there’s been calls I’ve gone to, everyone’s just been so kind. It’s really very heartwarming to see because in California – or even on the reservation – you really don’t get that.”

Barraza said he is excited for this new opportunity serving the people of Glenrock. 

“I’m not just here for a paycheck. I’m here because this is what I want to do.

“I like to do my job, I have a fun time doing it. I’ll do my best to make the people proud that I’m working for their city.”