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.
