Former Anchorage police chief to lead police department in Arizona

Just over a year after leaving Anchorage’s police force and taking a job with Providence Alaska, former Police Chief Ken McCoy said this week that he is returning to law enforcement as the new chief of police in Tempe, Arizona.

McCoy announced his decision in a social media post Monday.

“Exciting news! I am thrilled to announce that I have been selected as the new Chief of Police of the Tempe Police Department. I am so grateful for this opportunity,” he said. “I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Anchorage community, the men and women of APD, and Providence. Thank you for believing in me!”

McCoy spent 27 years with the Anchorage Police Department as an officer and supervisor. He began leading the department as acting chief in spring 2021, and became the first Black chief of police in the department’s 100-year history. He was sworn into the role permanently that summer under Mayor Dave Bronson, but just a few months later McCoy suddenly announced his retirement.

His retirement shocked many, including the police force and Assembly members. Leaders in communities of color said his departure was a loss for the entire city. The announcement came as political tensions in the city soared, with the Bronson administration and the Anchorage Assembly’s voting bloc majority clashing over pandemic restrictions and homelessness policy.

At the time of his announcement, McCoy did not say why he was leaving, and questions swirled. He has never given a detailed explanation for his departure, though he later acknowledged that politics, in part, played a role, calling it “the hardest decision of my career.”

McCoy officially retired from the department in early 2022 and took a job with Providence Alaska as its first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. Providence Alaska runs the state’s largest hospital in Anchorage, along with hospitals in Seward, Kodiak and Valdez and other health care facilities in the region.

A spokesman for Providence, in an emailed statement, said McCoy implemented a diversity, equity and inclusion program at Providence “from the ground up.”

“During his time with Providence, those who worked with Ken found him to be a leader of integrity, compassion and excellence. We also know that justice is at the center of who he is as a professional and as a person. Tempe is blessed to bring his talents to its community,” the statement said.

The Tempe Police Department has not responded to a Monday afternoon request from the Daily News to interview McCoy.

McCoy is scheduled to start in Tempe in June, according to a news release from the Tempe Police Department.

“Being a good Police Chief takes law enforcement expertise, management skills, leadership abilities and an abundance of character. Kenneth McCoy has those attributes and many more,” said Tempe City Manager Andrew Ching, who chose McCoy for the job from a pool of candidates.

Tempe is a suburb of Phoenix with about 185,000 residents and is home to Arizona State University.

After McCoy announced his departure from the Anchorage police in 2021, an anonymously sourced article published by website The Alaska Landmine alleged that McCoy resigned in response to improper demands made of him by the Bronson administration.

That triggered an inquiry into the matter by the Anchorage Assembly, and one event described in the article turned out to be true — that Bronson temporarily halted fluoridation of the city’s water supply, which is required by city code — though the event did not involve police and no link to McCoy’s departure emerged.

A trove of records later released by the administration to the Assembly partially corroborated another event alleged to be linked to his resignation, but the records did not reference reasons for his departure. Bronson officials vehemently rejected the idea that the records corroborated the account of McCoy’s departure.