With recent national attention on the topics of racial bias and police brutality, the community of Wrangell met via web conference last Monday evening for a town hall meeting to discuss policing practices in their hometown. The meeting provided an opportunity for residents to ask questions of Chief Tom Radke and to share their opinions on the Wrangell Police Department. Those who spoke in the meeting, by and large, expressed support for the police and their current practices.
"We had a handful of people express an interest in the police and the city taking a look at ourselves, in context with those more disturbing issues and events that were taking place in the Lower 48," Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said. "Initially we had scheduled a work session to have a discussion with the assembly, but it became apparent, and as the chief has indicated he really wants this interaction between the community and the department, and so we decided it would be a far better venue for us to hold this community town hall meeting rather than just have it in a work session."
Radke opened the meeting by introducing himself and his department. He came to Wrangell in January of this year, as reported in a Jan. 16 article in the Sentinel. Radke said he comes from the Minneapolis and St. Paul area in Minnesota. He has about 25 years of experience with the police department in St. Paul, he said, in a wide variety of departments.
The rest of the officers of the WPD consist of Lt. Bruce Smith, who Radke said has been here for about 24 years; as well as Damon Roher, with two and a half years of experience; Connor Philips, who has almost two years of experience, and Nick Pearson who also has almost two years of experience plus six more years policing in the Lower 48. Smith also served as interim chief of police before Radke was hired, following the retirement of Doug McCloskey.
"So I have kind of a younger department, that we have here," Radke said. "A lot of excitement with the younger guys, and I have Bruce that's been a great help to me with the department, and the community, getting started."
The Wrangell Police Department does have a policy regarding use of force, Radke said. Wrangell officers shall only use the amount of force that is "reasonably necessary to effectively bring an incident under control while protecting the lives of the officer and others." There are numerous state and local regulations regarding what constitutes the proper use of force in a given scenario, he said. These policies can vary by community and by state. Some departments consider removing a gun from a holster as a use of force incident, he said, while others do not.
Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said that, in Alaska, all use of force incidents have to be reported to the state. Radke said they file reports monthly to the state, and added that there is a national database as well.
Radke also explained some of the training and protocols in place for being an Alaskan police officer. Becoming a policeman in Alaska requires 1,000 hours of training, he said. That training covers everything from domestic violence, to implicit bias training, to use of force training, shooting, operating vehicles, and other topics important for being a police officer. Radke said that he wants to bring in ongoing training, as well, to go beyond the initial 1,000 hours. He would like there to be ongoing training on the topics of bias, use of force, and mental health.
"One of the things that struck me as a little different in Alaska is there are no continuing education requirements," Radke said. "We went through the training records and we're kind of coming up with a plan to continue the continuing ed aspect of your careers, because we can all remember when you came on and started your career versus wherever you are today. Obviously your careers have changed, dynamics and career challenges have changed, and we need to change with that."
Radke said he also has several ideas to better integrate the police officers with the Wrangell community. Some ideas he discussed included "Coffee With A Cop" meetings, volunteering at the schools and at community events, and creating a joint mission statement between the police and the public, among other ideas. He also mentioned forming a community police committee to act as a sort of intermediary between the WPD and the public. COVID-19 has thrown a lot of these ideas out the window temporarily, he said, but he hopes they can be implemented once the pandemic passes. The police are part of the community, he said, and it is important for officers to get out of the daily grind of policing.
"I think you've got a very young, inexperienced department that's looking to learn and be an active member of the community," Radke said. "I think that says a lot about the community, about the people that you've hired."
Many people who spoke in the meeting expressed their support for the police department. Assembly Member Julie Decker said she really liked the ideas surrounding better integrating the police and the public. Residents Don and DJ McConachie also expressed their support for the Wrangell Police Department. Jenni Jackson, another resident, said that Wrangell should not divide itself over the topic of the police.
A common theme amongst several speakers in the town hall meeting was a rejection of the idea that the WPD was a racist institution, a more common accusation made against police departments, generally, in recent months.
"There are no civil rights lawsuits to point to, there's not been experiences by anyone that I know of or racism by the Wrangell PD," Dale Parkinson said. "The argument I have heard is that since there is racism in Wrangell, that it follows there is institutional racism in the police department. That is totally ridiculous."
"I just wanted to say I don't see racism as an issue in Wrangell," Mike Lockabey said. "I've lived here, I've raised my family here for 40 years, 38 years. I don't see it. I think it's something we all have to be on guard of, especially in the hysteria of late, across the nation. I'm not saying it doesn't exist in other places, but I don't see it here. I've never really seen it. I see all backgrounds interacting together all the time."
Many members of the public agreed that they would like to see a closer relationship between the public and the police department. Several people had ideas of their own on how to improve policing in town, as well. Jackson said that she was more worried about Wrangell's drug problem than any racism. Resident Lupe Rogers proposed the WPD look into purchasing body cameras. That would be a good response to any allegations of racial bias, she said, as it would show the realities of any incident. Valerie Massie voiced her support for several ideas for community integration previously mentioned by Radke, such as "Coffee With a Cop," and shared some other ideas like implicit bias testing.
"As a resident, registered voter, employee, and human being in Wrangell, I am asking that WPD's anti-discrimination policies, training, and use of force policies are shared with the public," she said. "We are all capable of and carry biases that we learn over time, whether we know it or not. This does not make us bad people, but if we deny having them and don't try to fix them, they can become something worse. It's [Implicit bias testing] a free test, and it could be anyone who wanted it, not just officers ... The third idea I have is the 21-day racial equity challenge. This is a tool to grow our individual or community empathy. Like the implicit bias testing, it could be done as a group of officers and whoever else wanted to join. It lasts 21 days, like it says, and each day the activities take a few minutes to an hour."
Members of the public also took the opportunity to ask questions. Resident Eli Michael asked when members of the WPD received any diversity training. Radke answered that such training takes place in the police academy. The department does not currently have a policy for ongoing diversity training, but he said that it is a component of ongoing education they are looking into. He encouraged Michael, and others, to contact him to share ideas and thoughts on the subject.
Von Bargen asked a question from resident Tyla Nelson, who did not attend the meeting personally. She wanted to know if the department had any protections in place for police officers who faced false allegations. Radke said that he encourages internal affairs complaints about his officers. He knows Wrangell police are doing things right, but he likes to verify that. If a false accusation is made against an officer, he said that it is something that should be forwarded on to the district attorney for charging. Accountability is a two-way street, he said.
Radke also responded to questions regarding how the police department handles background checks, and whether or not they feel a need for increased transparency between the police and the public. The department handles background checks themselves, he said, but information gets verified by the Alaska Police Standards Council. When performing background checks on new hires, he said as an example, they will ask for items like internal affairs complaints among a checklist of other items.
On the topic of transparency, Radke said that in his opinion the Wrangell Police Department is very open, but that there is always room for improvement.
"I think we're doing good with it, we can always improve on it," he said. "That's one reason when I talked to the city manager, the community police committee I think might be that intermediate step to open that up, and let's see where that evolves, and let's see the citizen participation we get from there."
Vivian Faith Prescott had a question on the topic of qualified immunity, and whether or not the Wrangell Police Department was protected by it. This was asked through Von Bargen. Radke confirmed that was indeed the case, and explained what qualified immunity is a judicial document that protects government officials from being personally liable for Constitutional violations. As an example, when a police officer uses force against a suspect, within proper standards, that officer is protected from liability.
Prescott also asked, through Von Bargen, what the WPD was doing to address domestic violence. Radke said that they are looking into creating a shelter or safe home locally, in Wrangell. His department does not have a direct program to address domestic violence cases, he said, but they have been making several domestic violence arrests over the past six months. Radke also said that training to respond to domestic violence cases is part of ongoing training that he would like to implement in the future.
Lastly, Prescott wanted to know if Wrangell police officers received any education on
Tlingit culture. This is not the case, Radke said, but it is something he would be happy to look into.
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