Assembly confirms Anchorage’s new police chief and municipal attorney

Newly appointed constabulary main Sean Chase holds his manus up arsenic he is being sworn successful astatine nan Anchorage Assembly’s gathering connected Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

The Anchorage Assembly connected Tuesday confirmed caller Mayor Suzanne LaFrance’s picks to lead nan Anchorage Police Department and nan city’s Law Department.

Assembly members lauded some Police Chief Sean Case and Municipal Attorney Eva Gardner. 

They praised Case for his committedness to effort to meet nan organization expectations for transparency and accountability.  

“As personification who has tried to activity connected policies astir APD successful nan past nether a anterior main and was met pinch staunch resistance, this is simply a invited change,” said Assembly Vice Chair Meg Zaletel. “And I deliberation it’s a invited alteration for our community.” 

Assembly members praised Gardner for her competence and respect for nan domiciled arsenic a ineligible advisor and not a policymaker. 

Municipal lawyer Eva Gardner near shakes hands pinch Municipal Clerk Jamie Heinz moments aft taking nan oath of agency astatine nan Anchorage Assembly’s gathering connected Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

Member George Martinez called her cognition a activity of caller air. 

“At your confirmation hearing, you brought an energetic, roll-the-sleeves-up-and-get-things-done vibe,” he told her during nan meeting. “And you moreover described your early recruitment efforts. I would telephone 1 of those poaching, and I deliberation you did a awesome occupation of doing that, bringing immoderate talent from different folks backmost to nan municipality.”

“Oh yeah, I made progressive recruitment efforts,” Gardner said successful an interview. “It is bully to refill seats and supply amended work to nan municipality.”

In conscionable a fewer weeks connected nan job, Gardner said she’s filled 3 vacancies successful her understaffed department. She hired backmost 2 erstwhile metropolis attorneys who had near successful 2023, arsenic good arsenic a third, caller attorney, each successful nan civilian division. 

She said recruitment is besides underway for openings successful nan criminal division, including for the division’s lead prosecutor. 

Both appointees were confirmed successful 10-0 votes. Members Randy Sulte and Scott Myers were absent.