Anchorage Mayor-elect Dave Bronson surprised left-wing critics and mainstream media reporters today by announcing that Acting Anchorage Police Chief Ken McCoy will stay in that role in the Bronson Administration, which starts July 1.
McCoy was deputy police chief until the resignation of Justin Doll, when he was made acting chief by acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson. That move was acclaimed by the race-sensitive progressive community in Anchorage, which noted that Anchorage had met a milestone by having its first black police chief in its 117-year-history.
McCoy has been with the Anchorage Police for 27 years. When he was named acting chief he said his top priority would be to build trust in the community with minorities.
During the spring municipal election, McCoy was featured at a BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) get-out-the-vote event in May by a group that had promoted the candidacy of Forrest Dunbar, while many members of the police union had supported Bronson for mayor.
McCoy in on record saying that the department is too white and needs more sworn officers who are non-white to better reflect the community of Anchorage, which is two-thirds white. The department has four-fifths sworn officers who are white. Today he said it is still a priority to have the police force reflect the community and the challenge is to recruit qualified people.
Before joining the APD, McCoy attended the New Mexico Military Institute where he received his commission into the United States Army in 1990. He served 10 years with the Alaska Army National Guard, and left with an honorable discharge, at the rank of captain, in 2000.
McCoy is a graduate of Bartlett High School, and has a bachelor’s degree in justice from the University of Alaska Anchorage and a criminal justice certificate from the University of Virginia. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the FBI National Executive Institute.
Bronson announced Gerard Asselin as deputy police chief. Lt. Asselin has been with APD for 20 years and has served as Commander of the Investigative Support Unit, SWAT, Explosives Ordinance Division, K9 Unit, the Technical Support Unit, and Crisis Negotiations Team. He joined the command staff after serving as a sergeant in the Patrol Division for almost 10 years. He’s also served as a detective, crime scene investigator and union president.
Good choice!
Godspeed, Sir!
Very smart, highly respected patrol officer, detective and now chief. Glad to see him stay on.
Not a good start Bronson. Way to cower to the progressives and keep a racist in charge of the cops. Yeah, that’ll help with the crime problem.
But but but, Bronson’s a racist, I’ve been reading and hearing from the PIPOC crowd. How is this possible?
Good choice, Mayor Bronson. Keep up the good work. Crush crime in Anchorage.
Well at least he appears to have some credentials for the job. Now maybe he’ll learn to keep racist remarks to himself. Can you image a white Police Chief saying this department is too “Black”?
really tired of the double standard these days…
Karl C.:
Why are you calling the new chief under Bronson a racist? Evidence, please?
Strike one! This fellow is plugged in to the left wing Assembly. The new mayor should have vetted his own person. The importance of executive appointments is so important when you are facing these progressive lunatics. Get rid of all existing executives and put your own people in! Disregard all the “institutional knowledge” bull- – – -. When the libs come in they purge with a vengeance and whine like a turbine when conservatives do the same. BTW Mayor Bronson you can still change your mind on this one. The ADN will scream like a pen full of stuck pigs. KTUU will follow like they always do . SO WHAT! They are going to go after you anyway at every turn unless you keep repeating the extant mistake.
Thank You Mayor Bronson. Kenneth McCoy will do an excellent job as Chief of Police. He has earned this job. It is a great way to start this City.Kenneth Mc Coy is not a racist. Congratulations Kenneth from the former Registrar and School Nurse at Bartlett High School . We have complete faith in this appointment.
Too white?? Mccoy is too racist. I’m not surprised. Always living up to their stereotype.
To Will Gay; During Bronson’s campaign he stated, I agree with 85% of what Forrest is saying. How does burning everything down to the ground and starting over get you anywhere?
Chief McCoy sounds highly qualified to be chief, and he is also correct in that it is a good idea to have the police force represent the ethnic makeup of the community in order to improve relations. That is reality. I still rankle though at the term ‘white’, or ‘black’, in terms of skin pigmentation as nothing is black or white and such terms are incredibly subjective and even offensive. I am not white. Nor am I black. I find the whole stupidity of focusing on skin pigmentation part of the problem. If the police force needs some more ethnic mixup then so be it but quite making it so ‘black or white’. Anchorage is far more diverse than that but also those so bogged down by skin tone really need to make an effort to rise above it. Dr. MLK is likely rolling in his grave by now.
Will Gay – do you know for sure that Mayor Bronson did not vet Chief McCoy? Do you not think it is possible that even though the highly illustrious acting mayor appointed him, he could actually be the right person for the job? He has been with the force for 27 years. That speaks volumes. He went through some rigorous training and has a pretty stellar academic record. Seems to me our mayor is playing his cards right by allowing the right person to fill the position permanently despite whom appointed him, hence not making it vengeance politics. Good move I would say. McCoy is highly qualified.
I disagree. I don’t care for the terminology but there is a reality in community makeup representation in terms of improving relations. I would definitely give him a chance. He is really qualified and has been with the force 27 years! I am sure Bronson did his homework.
“McCoy in on record saying that the department is too white”
Anyone who can make this statement is a racist.
While i’m troubled by some of the officer’s former statements and associations, I feel confident that Ken McCoy has the best in mind for APD, its officers, and the city of Anchorage. I think the mayor has enough common sense to not appoint someone who will engage in a political takeover of APD. I wish our new police chief the best and am hopeful he will be a good leader.
Bronson turned out to be yet another Alaska RINO. He tried to warn us by saying that he agrees with Communists “85% of the time.” When will Alaska Conservatives WAKE UP and elect REAL LEADERS???
Too white? Too white? Maybe they are taking about the teeth that make up the APD. Too much smiling ?
This is actually strike two, WILL GAY.
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In addition to retaining a police chief who we might infer also looks at Anchorage as “too white”; vagrant coordinator John Morris evidently wants to see Anchorage remain a bum magnet: https://mustreadalaska.com/john-morris-next-steps-in-addressing-homelessness-in-alaskas-largest-city
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the content of their character, but by the color of their skin.
Really, Mr. McCoy? How about picking police officers by their merits rather than by what they look like?
There aren’t enough officers with my color hair
There aren’t enough officers with my body weight
There aren’t enough officers with my eye color
There aren’t enough officers with my shoe size
So what? Appearances are totally irrelevant to qualifications as a police officer, Mr. McCoy. Stop trying to further divide this city along racial lines. We have enough of that already with this current Assembly.
Hope Bronson isn’t like Murkowski Romney Collins sasse. Campaign as one kinda person turn into a vampire
Any public servant who says – our police force is to white, shows up and participated in BIPOC, get rid of them. We don’t need race baiting critical race theory anti-white leftists ideologues maintaining positions of power. Try again Bronson.
Chrissy B:
“McCoy in on record saying that the department is too white and needs more sworn officers who are non-white to better reflect the community of Anchorage[.]” Can you read?
@Toots You forgot John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Bill Cassidy, Mike DeWine, Louise Stutes, Kelly Merrick, Sara Rasmussen, Cathy Giessel, Mitch McConnell, etc etc. It appears as if the majority of “Republicans” are really liberals (or Trump haters) in disguise
“McCoy in on record saying that the department is too white and needs more sworn officers who are non-white to better reflect the community of Anchorage, which is two-thirds white.”
So after reading this statement, how is it that the APD is “too white”? Sounds to me like it’s represented exactly how it should be.
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