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In advance of the April 6 Anchorage municipal election, the Anchorage Daily News asked candidates running for Anchorage mayor a series of issue questions. These include questions suggested by readers. Read all the mayor and school board candidates’ responses here.
Q: Would you make changes to the Anchorage Police Department and policing policies? Why? Please describe in detail.
I am not informed enough on the subject. Increasing visible police presence and police involvement in neighborhood social media like Nextdoor could be helpful.
As mayor, I will hire the best Chief of Police that I can and then I will allow him or her the authority to pursue those policing policies which best reduces crime without compromising officer safety. I will certainly monitor our policing policies, but I will not meddle in policing matters.
We need more community policing, mental health professionals for outreach and trauma-informed policing as well as body cameras. We can’t criminalize every behavior we don’t like and push those populations into the shadows. It’s just bad policy and isn’t very responsible or effective.
Since I joined the Assembly in 2016, we have worked to rebuild the APD, putting 100 new officers on the street. We are starting to see the return on that investment; APD recently stood up a cold-case unit and has more resources to address theft and violent crime. Those improvements, in turn, have been reflected in our crime statistics, which have declined since 2017. There is still more work to be done — we need more non-sworn personnel in particular — but progress has been made. At the same time, we must continue to build trust between the Department and the community. That means improving transparency policies, investing in supplementary programs like the Mental Health First Responders, listening to community groups when they raise concerns and implementing an effective body camera system.
I would support many of the changes already underway, including the introduction of body cams and the addition of mental health teams to respond to acute psychiatric events in conjunction with or in lieu of a police response. Police departments represent the cutting edge where government power touches the community, and as such, it is an area that needs to be in a constant state of review and improvement. Good, effective and just law enforcement is critical for any city, especially a city as diverse and as far-flung as Anchorage.
APD completed a comprehensive review of its policies and procedures manual last summer and, at my direction, posted the manual online for public review. Current policy forbids the kind of strangulation that was used to murder George Floyd, requires de-escalation and verbal warnings, prohibits warning shots, restricts shooting at moving vehicles, requires officers to minimize risks to bystanders and permits the least amount of force necessary to accomplish a lawful objective. The Department does not use no-knock warrants of the sort that resulted Breonna Taylor’s death. I support assigning mental health crisis calls out of APD. The Department of Justice is currently completing an assessment of APD, and I would use the results of that work to inform discussions about further policy changes.
Yes. I have an attorney who said in a brief that APD policies and procedures are not in alignment with statutes, codes and ordinances. We will review and examine each one to make it to where we are all on the same page.
The Anchorage Police Department is continually working to improve its policing policies. One example is that the chokeholds used in both the Eric Garner and George Floyd cases are illegal. Another example is that racially motivated stop-and-frisk tactics found in New York City or Los Angeles are not practiced here and are not part of our department’s culture. The immediate change that I want to see is building a strong recruitment pipeline from our most diverse high schools to grow a more culturally responsive and representative police force. We would work with UAA to create a degree pathway for those recruits.
At this time, I have no plans to make broad changes to the way our police department operates. Once elected, we will work with the new chief and assess department procedures and outcomes to determine if any changes are needed or warranted.
I would evaluate all departments of the Municipality of Anchorage to see what changes, if any, are necessary in these times ahead of us. I would not increase the number of police officers. I would enforce all theft and other laws that exist by the police with regards to actions by the homeless or others. The people of Anchorage are entitled to their property rights as well as others.
Read more questions:
Why are you running for mayor?
What’s the biggest challenge facing city government and how would you address it?
Describe how your administration would approach the coronavirus pandemic
Would you make changes to the Anchorage Police Department and policing policies? Why?
Is the Anchorage Police Department adequately staffed?
Describe, with specifics, how you would expand and diversify Anchorage’s economy.
What’s your vision for Anchorage’s economy in the future?
Is taxation in Anchorage too high/about right/too low?
Do you have ideas for alternative sources of city revenue? Explain.
Are there city programs or services you would cut? Explain.
Are there city programs or services you would expand? Explain.
What’s your view of current Anchorage land-use plans? Would you push for changes?
Name a program dealing with homelessness in Anchorage that you believe is working
Are there specific transportation projects you would initiate in the municipality if elected?