Tom Ehlers

Prior to joining the Park County Sheriff’s Office, Tom Ehlers served with the Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Department.

Courtesy photo

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After more than four decades of public service in the military and in law enforcement, Park County Undersheriff Tom Ehlers has retired.

Ehlers served with the sheriff’s office for 27 years, beginning as a detention deputy in the jail, then becoming a patrol deputy and a sergeant.

When Scott Steward became sheriff in 2005, he soon tabbed Ehlers as his second-in-command.

“I needed someone that had integrity, knew the job, and above all would be honest and give it to me straight no matter what,” Steward said in a statement, “and there was one man that fit that description: Thomas C. Ehlers, Jr.”

Ehlers took an interest in law enforcement early in his career, studying criminal justice at the University of Nebraska and then joining the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Department as an officer in 1981. All the while, he served in the Nebraska National Guard, where his primary duty was as military police.

Policing in Lincoln, with a population of more than 190,000 people, “was no small task,” the sheriff’s office said in a tribute to Ehlers. His roles with the Lincoln department included serving as a field training officer and as a narcotics investigator.

“The training and experience garnered from this time are what molded him into the exemplary officer he is today,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

In 1992, Ehlers moved to Cody and was hired by the U.S. Forest Service for the summer as a compliance officer. When that temporary position came to an end, he took a job with the State of Wyoming in its Probation and Parole Division. However, he also kept in touch with the Park County Sheriff’s Office — even applying to be a dispatcher — “as even then he knew this is where he wanted to be,” the tribute says.

Ultimately, Ehler was hired by then-Sheriff Bill Brewer in 1993.

He took on various roles and duties at the sheriff’s office; for instance, Ehlers’ colleagues said he stepped in to help dispatchers whenever the need arose.

“He has established himself as an exceptional undersheriff who could be counted on no matter the circumstance,” Steward said. “We will definitely miss him.”

He called Ehlers “the best wingman I could have ever asked for” and “a true friend and brother.”

In a testament to the relationships he built over the decades of public service, the news of Ehlers’ retirement drew more than 600 “likes” and “loves” on Facebook, along with more than 150 well wishes.

While Undersheriff Ehlers has retired from the department, his son, Jed Ehlers, continues to serve as a deputy and investigator.