By DAVID IGNELL
When Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor pursued felony indictments against Ketchikan Police Chief Jeff Walls, his office withheld the most credible piece of evidence clearing the chief’s name — a memo from a seasoned Alaska State Trooper investigator.
My column last week about “How Attorney General Taylor ran a decorated police chief out of Ketchikan” generated a lot of comments on Must Read Alaska and on various social media platforms nationwide.
The majority of those posting comments easily grasped the seriousness of the prosecutorial misconduct committed in gaining three separate grand jury indictments of former Ketchikan Police Chief Jeff Walls. However, apparently the quotes by former DPS Commissioner Dick Burton, Superior Court Judge Katherine Lybrand, and the Ketchikan City Manager weren’t enough for some.
There’s an old saying, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.”
Perhaps the number of doubters will decline after reading the concluding paragraph of the memo written by retired Lt. Jeff Hall of the Alaska State Troopers, following his investigation into Walls’ case:
“This case should never have been brought forward. Every person has a right to protect himself and others from aggression. Law enforcement officers have the right to use force in this manner to detain criminal suspects. The chief showed great restraint in dealing with a large, aggressive, intoxicated man, and was ill-served by the trooper and the prosecutor.”
Lt. Hall was the major crimes investigation sergeant for “A” Detachment, based in Ketchikan from 1992 to 1995. His investigation and opinion should have carried significant weight with AG Taylor.
But it didn’t carry any. In fact, Taylor withheld Lt. Hall’s memo from the two subsequent grand juries who indicted Walls. So much for the pursuit of truth by our prosecutors.
I recently spoke with Lt. Hall. “Chief got screwed” were among his first words to me. Toward the end of our call he gave me permission to quote him.
Lt. Hall’s memo is dated Aug. 31, 2023. He emailed it that same day to Major Anthony April, Deputy Director of the Alaska State Troopers. The next day April forwarded the email with a “High Importance” tag to Captain Mike Zweifel, Commander of “A” Detachment and Colonel Maurice Hughes, Director of the Alaska State Troopers.
Exactly where Lt. Hall’s report went from Captain Zweifel and Colonel Hughes hasn’t yet been confirmed, but one thing is certain – the Attorney General’s Office knew about the memo at least two weeks before Taylor made his second attempt to indict Chief Walls, who was now back on the job after the first indictment had been dismissed.
On Sept. 5, 2023, Walls’ defense attorney sent the memo to Taylor’s Office of Special Prosecution and also filed a Notice of Expert Witness pertaining to Lt. Hall. The notice clearly stated, “Lt. Hall is freely available for interview by OSP by appointment with the undersigned attorney”.
The notice was a matter of public record in Ketchikan and stated that Lt. Hall “will testify, most significantly, that the use of force alleged in this case was reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances.” Undeterred, Taylor sought the second grand jury indictment in Juneau two weeks later on Sept. 21, 2023.
Was this notice one of the factors that influenced Taylor to seek the second indictment in Juneau rather than Ketchikan? Was Taylor concerned that knowledge of the contents of this notice would become more easily known to the Ketchikan grand jury, dooming his attempt to put Walls in jail?
Had the Attorney General allowed the 2nd and 3rd grand juries to review Lt. Hall’s memo, here’s what they would have read:
“This opinion is the result of reviewing available information regarding the incident at Salmon Falls, Ketchikan, Alaska, 9/10/22, involving Ketchikan Chief of Police Jeffrey Walls and Mr. Wildes, a visitor from Washington State. It is written based on my years as a trooper, my experience, training, and education, and having been the major crimes investigation sergeant for “A” Detachment, based in Ketchikan from 1992 to 1995.”
“On the evening of 10 Sept., Chief Walls and his wife, Sharon, entered the Salmon Falls resort restaurant. They had made a reservation for dinner, but their table was not ready, so they sat at the bar. A short time, later, a “highly intoxicated” Mr. Wildes commented “watch this” to his two companions. Mr. Wildes then rapidly approached the chief from his right rear and drove his shoulder into the chief, knocking him almost 180 degrees on his stool. Chief Walls asked him why he did it, did he know him, and Wildes replied “I thought it’d be funny” then offered to buy the chief and his wife drinks – they declined.”
“Approximately an hour later, after their food had arrived, Mr. Wildes again assaulted the chief and his wife. Wildes, who weighs over 200 pounds, used his body to strike both the chief and his wife, driving them both onto the bar, injuring Sharon Walls’ right arm and breast. Wildes continued walking towards the door, and Chief Walls followed him with the intent of detaining him for the two assaults. Wildes’ hands were not visible, so the chief pushed him from the back, causing Wildes to fall to the floor. Wildes immediately began to get up, turned, and his head came up under the chief’s armpit. The chief attempted a headlock, then was grabbed from the rear, around his neck, by the bar manager, who separated the two. A bystander said, “we’ve got him,” referring to Wildes. At some point, Wildes received abrasions to his head.”
“At no time did Chief Walls use any excessive force. He did not strike, kick or use any type of “chokehold”. Had he used a proper LVNR, which would have been entirely appropriate, Wildes would have suffered no injury. I have submitted 20-30 men and 1 woman using the LVNR, and none suffered injury. Wildes was bleeding from a head cut and had blood on his hands, but the chief did not have any blood on him. Wildes himself stated that no chokehold was used.”
“The ‘investigation’ conducted by Trooper Larry Dur’an was a travesty –- he ignored almost all basic investigation techniques. He did not enter the building until an hour after he arrived; failed to separate witness; allowed witnesses to talk among themselves; he refused to interview the bartender: did not interview the spouses of both KPD officers; he handcuffed, un-handcuffed, then re-handcuffed Wildes; repeatedly asked witnesses if they saw the chief use a “chokehold”; suggested that witnesses change their statements, etc.”
The next and final paragraph of Hall’s memo was cited at the beginning of this article, but it is so important it merits repeating:
“This case should never have been brought forward. Every person has a right to protect himself and others from aggression. Law enforcement officers have the right to use force in this manner to detain criminal suspects. The chief showed great restraint in dealing with a large, aggressive, intoxicated man, and was ill-served by the trooper and the prosecutor.”
Former DPS Commissioner Dick Burton saw things the same way as Lt. Hall. In his “something stinky” email Burton continued to write his former colleagues: “reading the attached news report I have no sympathy for the drunk; assault another man’s wife and you can not expect anything less than a violent physical reaction.”
Taylor’s exclusion of Lt. Hall’s memo is the “smoking gun” evidence why Alaska prosecutors can’t currently be trusted with serving as advisors to grand juries in criminal indictments or in investigations. Emergency intervention by the federal government to protect citizens’ due process rights under the US Constitution is needed immediately.
It is likely that many of the current personnel under the Attorney General will need to be replaced, and the current system refined, so that more meaningful checks and balances can be implemented. But that will require our Legislature to take meaningful action, which could be a long time coming. Reform is also needed within the Alaska Supreme Court which has no right to restrict grand jury reports following their investigations.
Despite the misleading constructions of fact and law given by prosecutors to the Ketchikan and Juneau grand juries, I can’t imagine them indicting Chief Walls had they been allowed to read Lt. Hall’s memo and invited him in to testify. His memo offered valuable insight into the truth of the Salmon Falls Incident and the use of force guidelines that were so critical in the case.
Chief Walls’ case reminds me of what Pastor Bob Barton of Hoonah, a key witness in the Thomas Jack, Jr., case said in an affidavit about the actions of Juneau prosecutor Angela Kemp 15 years ago. Barton, who was awarded the Air Medal signed by former US President Lyndon B. Johnson stated:
“I recall being stunned upon learning that Thomas was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault of T.T. in the Juneau courtroom. I returned to Alaska from Texas to be present in court and testify on Thomas’ behalf at his sentencing hearing in the fall of 2010. I recall that when Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp figured out who I was, she stopped asking me questions and that didn’t sit well with me. In my view, prosecutors are obligated to follow the truth regardless of the result it leads to.” (emphasis added)
Over two years ago I gave Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore a copy of Barton’s affidavit and tried to pin down a time for a meeting he had previously agreed to have with me. Skidmore later told me he had changed his mind and wouldn’t meet with me because my claims weren’t credible. Incidentally, Skidmore and Kemp were involved in formulating the new rules out of Taylor’s office that restrict grand jury access to Alaska citizens requesting investigations.
If truth was the guide of our prosecutors, Chief Walls would still be in Ketchikan taking deadly fentanyl off its streets. Instead, Alaska prosecutors abused Truth to try to put Walls in jail alongside Jack.
Through his indictment of Chief Walls, exactly what message was Attorney General Treg Taylor trying to send to law enforcement officers across Alaska? That its OK for drunks to intentionally assault you or your wife? Or that if you respond to any crime in what you and your fellow officers believe is a lawful use of force, you risk felony assault charges?
Or could the message have been that if you are successful in taking deadly drugs off the street, his office will find a way to get rid of you.
This last question deserves special attention Sources I have spoken to say that Ketchikan has a reputation for being infested with vast quantities of deadly drugs. Indeed, after Chief Walls’ arrival fentanyl seizures increased 525% in his first year.
However, instead of recognizing Walls as a hero, Taylor got him indicted on two felonies and went after him relentlessly over the next two years.
Burton had this to say about the Ketchikan troopers in an email several months later: “Ketchikan is not known for doing things right anyway. I used to think they were on our side, but I think the inmates have taken over.”
Have the inmates taken over the Attorney Generals’ office as well? When one considers they ignored Hall’s memo and then kept it from the grand jury, the answer to that question is likely a “yes”.
Important questions remain: Was the Salmon Falls incident a set-up, intended to provoke a more violent reaction from Walls? If so, who was all in on it?
According to Walls, some of KPD’s drug seizures during his tenure occurred on boats that had come over from the airport on Gravina Island, which is part of the Troopers’ domain. Walls also noticed a lack of US Customs officials on his official visits to Gravina Island.
Is the Ketchikan airport a central hub of the fentanyl drug distribution network throughout Southeast? Is the deadly drug offloaded in Vancouver on container ships from China or Russia? Are containers then trucked to the Prince Rupert vicinity where the drugs are then loaded onto small planes that land in Ketchikan an hour or two later?
These are all legitimate questions. Alaskans need a grand jury to investigate and discern the truth. But the Attorney General has rigged that process too.
You were right Commissioner Burton. Things are really stinky here in Alaska.
David Ignell was born and raised in Juneau where he currently resides. He formerly practiced law in California state and federal courts and was a volunteer analyst for the California Innocence Project. He is currently a forensic journalist and recently wrote a book on the Alaska Grand Jury.
What a sorry story. I well know Mr Hall and can assure you that he is a man who lives a principled life following the principles of integrity and honesty. If he said the Chief was screwed. The city needs to pay dearly for their illegal and immoral actions.
There is a term used in law enforcement called reasonable suspicion. The author of this column has made the case for me to become reasonably suspicious that the entire judicial system in our state is self serving and does not have the citizens best interests in mind. We really need the U.S. department of Justice to take an active interest in what we have going on here.