Jay Huerta: New cop on the beat

Wrangell residents are likely to see a new face patrolling the streets, as the Wrangell Police Department has recently recruited a new officer. Paul Jay Huerta was sworn in on June 10. New to Alaska, Huerta spent a lot of his life and career in California. Wrangell, he said, is a terrific opportunity for him to slow down and enjoy the small town life.

"I started getting the Alaska bug," he said. "Alaska is something that I've always wanted to do. Long story short, I pretty much woke up one day and said 'I gotta do Alaska. If I don't do it know, I'm never going to do it.'"

Huerta said that he was always interested in a career in law enforcement since he was a kid, growing up in California. He made his first applications in his 20s, but got turned away. He said that he had been a "knucklehead a couple times" when he was younger, and his application was rejected. The department he had applied to suggested that a stint in the military would be a good pathway to consider. So, in 1995, he joined the Marine Corps.

"I joined for supposedly four years, get that under my belt, little check in the box, but as a lot of Marines do, four turned into eight, eight turned into twelve," Huerta said. "Once you pass your ten-year mark, you're like 'Do the twenty.' So that's what I did."

During his two decades in the Marines, Huerta has travelled the world. He has four tours in Iraq under his belt, along with a tour in Afghanistan. He has been almost everywhere in the Middle East, he said, except Iran, as well as several places in Europe and Asia.

"I got the traveling bug out of my system. I've been there, done that," he said.

After the military, Huerta decided to give police work another shot. He spent six months attending the police academy at night, after his day job, and graduated top of his class. His first job was with the Indio Police Department, east of Los Angeles, where he worked for about five months. He then moved to Desert Hot Springs, also east of Los Angeles, where he worked for over a year. It was not exactly what he was hoping for, however. He said that he wanted to be in a place where he could talk to people and get to know their names while on the job. In California, the pace of work just did not allow for that.

"That's when I contacted the Wrangell Police Department, because I was looking for career opportunities and Wrangell was on the Alaska website," Huerta said.

He has only been in Wrangell for a few weeks and Huerta said he is loving the town so far. It was just what he was looking for, he said. He wanted a place with a small town feel and a slower pace. After a long career of traveling the world and not staying in one place long term, he said that this was a good place to settle down. He has between 15 years or so to go before he can retire, he said, but he wants to spend them here.

"I've literally, pretty much, lived out of my sea bag for the last 25 years. I mean like renting apartments and things of that nature. I have not yet purchased a house and settled down. That's what I'm doing here," he explained.

Huerta said that he is a very friendly person, despite outward appearances. He said that his Marine Corps training can make him look unapproachable at times, but that he is very outgoing and eager to meet the people of Wrangell.