On Tuesday night, the Anchorage Assembly confirmed Mayor Dave Bronson’s pick for the new Anchorage chief of police, Michael Kerle.
Shortly after Kerle’s confirmation, members of the public provided testimony to the assembly, and weren’t shy in conveying what they want to see from the police department going forward.
“Tonight I want to take this moment to not only shine a light on the lack of accountability, community connection, and trust that is between the community of Anchorage and it’s police department, but to call for action to be taken toward stronger intervention from the assembly and establishing a system of accountability for APD,” one member of the public said.
“We will continue to ask for questions of the assembly and APD until body worn camera policy is implemented, and we’ll continue to push for opportunities to comment and be heard on this issue,” another testifier said. “In order for the public to have trust in the Anchorage Police Department, we need transparency on what is going on with this policy.”
Assembly members Crystal Kennedy and Kameron Perez-Verdia, who are co-chairs of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, stepped in and said there will be a meeting later this month where the public can call in. The committee will be talking about updates on the body camera policy, and discussing public input and next steps.