Heath Scott (right)
With the recent retirement of Doug McCloskey, who has been Wrangell's police chief since 2003, the borough has been working hard to find a suitable replacement. City officials have been considering several candidates. Among these is Heath Scott, the chief of police in Haines. A meet and greet with Scott has been scheduled for Friday, July 19, at 5:30 p.m. at city hall. The public is invited to come meet with the candidate and get to know him better.
Scott has over 22 years of "progressively responsible experience" in law enforcement, according to his resume and application which were provided by city hall. His education includes a Summa cum Laude bachelor's degree in criminal justice from American Continental University, and a master's degree in criminal justice from Boston University. Before coming to Alaska he was a deputy chief of police with the D.C. Protective Services Police Department, in the nation's capital. Scott said that he really enjoyed his work in D.C., but that he left because of some structural changes that hindered his career advancement. He began looking around for work as a police chief, and the idea of moving to Alaska came up. Growing up in Indiana, and his wife Candice being from Nebraska, Scott said they knew they wanted to go somewhere rural. He took the job of police chief of Haines in 2016.
"Long story short, I came up here through sheer happenstance," he said. "It was a very good fit."
Sean Maidy, Haines assembly member, said that he has been very impressed with Scott's three years as police chief. Haines is a difficult city for police to work in, he said, because of distrust between the department and the community. Maidy explained that the city used to have problems with corruption in the police department, but that they have had complete turnover of the department. Despite this, he said, the distrust remained. Maidy said that Scott has "gone above and beyond" in community outreach and working to earn the city's trust. He also added that the Haines assembly has very recently considered extending his contract another five years.
"Everyone in town has their own different views and own different opinions ... the general majority is in favor of him as chief," Maidy said.
Debra Schnabel, Haines' borough manager, agreed with Maidy's assessment that Scott has been a good chief of police. Haines is a tough community, she said, and Scott came in at a particularly volatile time in the town. Local politics has been something Scott has had to wade through, on top of rebuilding community relationships. One such episode of volatile local politics involved the police blotter, which was printed in the Chilkat Valley News, Haines' local newspaper.
"That was such a huge issue," Schnabel said.
According to articles provided by the CVN, in 2017 there was some controversy caused amongst the town when Scott said the department would no longer produce a police blotter, reportedly, due to budget concerns and the negative portrayal it gave the department. Articles in the Chilkat Valley News also state that Scott later accused certain members of the Haines assembly of misusing their public position by trying to get him to return the blotter to the newspaper. Schnabel said that Scott has been very big on community outreach, and wanted the Haines police to be seen in a good light. Coming from a large urban city like D.C., she said that he did not grasp the small-town opinion that the police blotter was how people kept up with each other and what everybody was up to. It was a big controversy, in her opinion, because it was perceived badly. The Chilkat Valley News still prints the police blotter, she said, but it is a little less colorful than it used to be.
"I think he's become a respectable, trustworthy contributor in the community," she said of Scott.
Scott agreed that Haines could have a challenging atmosphere at times. He said that when he came into his new job, the Haines Police Department did not have a good reputation in town, or across the rest of the state. He said that one of his accomplishments that he is very proud of is being able to help put the department on a course correction and begin rebuilding local trust between the public and the police. He has enjoyed his time in Haines, he said, but his contract is coming up soon so he began feeling out opportunities elsewhere. Scott said that he wants to keep his family in the area. The rural, small-town lifestyle is something he and his wife both enjoy, and are very happy to offer that same kind of lifestyle for their children to grow up in.
"I really enjoy the Southeast," he said.
Rick Groshong, Hoonah police chief and former Wrangell policeman, was a second candidate who was considered. However, he withdrew his application as of Tuesday, July 16.
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