Readers ask: Where is the police report detailing Palin family brawl that went full-on ‘Jerry Springer’?

August 1, 2022

Readers have asked Must Read Alaska to provide the full 26-page police report from the 2014 “Palin brawl” in Anchorage. Sarah Palin is a congressional candidate on the Aug. 16 ballot to fill out the remainder of Congressman Don Young’s term, and she is on the primary ballot for the two-year seat in Congress.

What is this about?

Context is helpful. It has been almost eight years since Sept. 6, 2014, when the fight occurred, leaving at least two men bloodied. While Sarah Palin, who was by then a media and news personality, was endorsing the Alaska Democratic Party’s ticket for governor of Alaska, she was also having to explain why members of her family were involved in a drunken brawl at a hillside home in Anchorage, where they had arrived in a stretch Humvee for a birthday party for her husband.

Palin, who had left the governorship in 2009, remained active in politics. Weeks before, she had endorsed 2014’s Ballot Measure 1, an effort to repeal the Alaska Legislature’s and Gov. Sean Parnell’s rollback of her punishingly high oil taxes known as ACES, a tax hike that was driving oil companies out of the state. That ballot measure failed with voters.

Palin was, after the defeat of Ballot Measure 1, fully onboard with gubernatorial aspirant Bill Walker/Byron Mallott, the ticket manufactured by the Alaska Democratic Party. Walker/Mallot won the governorship that year and went on to try to make a deal with China to build a gasline, and he shredded the Permanent Fund dividend formula, costing Alaskan thousands of dollars in dividends that were garnished by the government to grow government.

In the middle of Palin’s political involvement with oil taxes and Bill Walker, there was what became known as “the brawl.”

The police report from the event has interviews with several witnesses, including some of the Palins. Some of the excerpts:

“Five police officers compiled a 26-page report after interviewing more than 15 witnesses — including the Palin children in attendance — and most of the accounts (except for those given by the Palins) say that Bristol Palin had repeatedly punched Mr. Klingenmeyer in the face,” the New York Times reported.

“The Palins lay the blame for the fighting on others. Some of the witnesses, including the host, say that the Palins, particularly Bristol, were the instigators of several fights that broke out, all of which involved members of the Palin family,” according to the Times.

“Officer Benjamin Nelson said in his report that when he arrived at the home he found Sarah and Todd Palin arguing with other partygoers. He said that he also witnessed Todd, Track and Willow confronting Mr. Klingenmeyer in his driveway, and that officers had to separate the parties,” the newspaper reported in a story by Amanda Coyne of Anchorage. Coyne was the writer who broke the story initially in her own news website.

Here are some of the actual highlights from the police report:

“Bristol said they were at a birthday party when her younger sister, Willow Palin, told her an older lady pushed her. Bristol said she went towards the woman to confront her about pushing her sister, but Korey, the owner of the house, came up to her and pushed her down to the ground, calling her a “slut” over and over.

“Bristol said someone then pulled her around on the grass by her feet and someone stole her shoes and sunglasses.”

[Matthew] McKenna said their buddy, Steve Lebida, was sucker punched by an unknown person and knocked to the ground. As he was trying to help him out, four people jumped on Todd Palin.

“As McKenna moved to help Todd, Todd’s son, Track, jumped in began fighting with the people who bumped his father.”

“McKenna said he witnessed Bristol hit Corey in the face multiple times. Two females pulled Bristol away from Corey and that was when she went down to the ground. McKenna said Bristol was out of control.”

“They were leading a WMA to the limo and pushing him in as I approached. They appeared intent on keeping him away from me. I saw that he did not have a shirt on and there was blood around his mouth and on his hands and he appeared to have an injury under his left eye, on his upper cheek …

“He appeared heavily intoxicated and he acted belligerent at first but I was able to get to step out of the car and a female who turned out to be his mother told him to talk to me. He came out of the car to talk … and identified himself as Track Palin.

[Track Palin] “said that while they were there, some guys were talking rudely to his sisters, making them cry and they decided to leave and go back out to the valley …

“He says they were walking away from Kory’s driveway when someone sucker punched Steven from behind and knocked him to the ground. Track said he then confronted one of the guys and said he would fight him, so Track took off his shirt to fight.”

[Bristol Palin] “appeared heavily intoxicated and upset … She stated she didn’t know who Korey was and then said that Korey had dragged her across the lawn by her legs and was calling her a “c***” and a “slut.”

[Korey Klingenmeyer] “was angry that the Palins had showed up and were causing the problem …

“Several minutes later Bristol, and he believes Willow Palin, came around to the back of the house. Bristol said she was going to beat that girl’s a**. Kore told her that he wasn’t going to have any of that here and told her to go home.

“She then asked, “Who the f*** are you?” and he told her he was the one who owns this house and there’s no fighting going on here. She then told him that he doesn’t own this place and that she will kick his a**.”

“Willow Palin was extremely agitated, saying she did not understand why we let the people walk away that were involved.”

“She then started talking about how Corey assaulted her sister Bristol and that several guys were on top of her sister when she was on the ground.”

“She alleged an older lady pushed her and that people were saying things like ‘F*** the Palins’.”

“After I spoke to Dishion, Todd Palin came walking back to the driveway and confronted Corey, asking him if he called his daughter a “b****.”

“Willow Palin also walked up and flipped Corey off.”

“Marc [McKenna] said he had witnessed Bristol Palin come up the driveway, yelling about how she was going to kick someones butt.”

“Marc said he then witnessed Korey confront Bristol and watched as Bristol began assaulting Korey, punching him 6 times in the face before Korey restrained her.”

“Marc said other men saw Korey restraining Bristol and got involved and that the whole thing was one big misunderstanding due to too much alcohol and people.”

Read the first account of the fight at AmandaCoyne.com.