The new sheriff of a Wyoming county has banned his deputies from wearing cowboy hats and boots, prompting one veteran to retire rather than get a makeover.
The western Wyoming County, which has been known for its official rodeo-rider logo and Cowboy State moniker but was recently named as a true Western town, has been imposed with the new dress code by Sublette County Sheriff Stephen Haskell, who described the change as being more safe and uniform.
According to the new dress code, deputies will be required to wear black trousers, a tan shirt, black boots and a black ball cap, NBC News reported.
"I'm very much for the Western way of life and the look. And that's the way I dress," Haskell told the Casper Star-Tribune. "However, for a professional outfit ... I like everybody to look the same. We are one team unified in one purpose. That is to do our job."
The policy change is aimed at having consistent uniforms rather than a variety of outfits that leave the deputies looking like the "Skittles patrol," said the 53-year-old, who has worked in law enforcement for three years. He argued that cowboy boots are slippery on ice while rubber-soled shoes provide more safety by giving traction on ice and snow.
However the change led Deputy Gene Bryson to retire last Friday, after having served 28 years with the department and about 40 years total in law enforcement, according to Fox News.
"When you take away my individuality, I don't want to stay," said Bryson, whose uniform included a brown cowboy hat, brown cowboy boots and a leather vest in the summer or a wool vest in the winter.
The uniform change is "kind of the reason why I retired," the 78-year-old told the newspaper. "I am not going to change. I've been here for 40-odd years in the sheriff's office, and I'm not going to go out and buy combat boots and throw my vest and hat away and say, 'This is the new me.' "
"And I've had a cowboy hat on since 19 -- I don't know," Bryson said. "That's what looks good to me in the sheriff's department. It's Western. It's Wyoming."
Aside from Bryson, the new dress code has been well-received in the department and the community, with none of the other deputies refusing to comply, Haskell added.
Sublette County, a sprawling, rural area covers nearly 5,000 square miles and employs 68 deputies but is home to only 10,000 residents, Sky News reported.