Letters to the Editor

Letter: First responder diversity

Every decade or so, we’re informed that APD, Troopers and Fire Dept. are still more than 90% white. This simply proves “coincidences take a lot of planning.” Regarding the APD, several years ago, I wrote an op-ed calling for their workforce to be half white and half people of color. I met resistance with that idea, with objectors saying “that’s not even the population” — well, the population isn’t 90/10 either.

We could easily rectify this situation by having academies 100% people of color. When we had academies 100% white, no one said a word, so objectors be damned, until we arrive at 70/30 — or is the population 60/40?

Phillip LaBay Mikes

Anchorage

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