The Riverton Police Department will soon hire a staff member to investigate claims of race-based discrimination.

The person hired for the position will not be a police officer, but will work closely with police when conducting investigations, says Riverton police chief Mike Broadhead.

“I see this as a position to serve as an educator,” he says. “To help people who have been victims of bias to have an outlet that is healthy and to make them feel like they don’t have to go home frustrated. I want to give them a voice.”

Broadhead says the position is needed because many Native Americans have complained to police of discrimination in housing and employment in the area—but his officers have had difficulty sorting these issues out.

Broadhead says the hire will be Native American, and he wants both the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes to have input in the decision.  

The Riverton Police Department hopes to have someone in the position by October.