Attorney General investigating 911 report on Wasilla mayor

WASILLA — The Alaska Attorney General’s Office has denied a public information request by the Frontiersman to obtain facts about a January Alaska State Trooper’s case involving Mayor Verne Rupright “due to the pendency of an ongoing criminal investigation.”

Although Attorney General John Burns’ letter dated April 7 did not disclose the exact nature of the investigation or who was involved in it, the Frontiersman has faced numerous roadblocks in its efforts to gather information about the Jan. 8 call to 911 dispatchers from someone at the Mat-Su Borough Animal Shelter regarding Rupright’s driving.

Asst. Attorney General John Novak confirmed Thursday there is an ongoing criminal investigation on the Jan. 8 emergency call involving Rupright. He would not confirm nor deny whether the investigation centered directly on the mayor, however.

“I can’t comment beyond what was in that letter,” Novak said, adding that he will contact the Frontiersman when the investigation is completed.

Rupright said Thursday he doesn’t know why the state won’t release its report. He said there’s not a criminal investigation on him.

“I don’t know what they’re talking about,” he said.

Known as a “REDDI” call — or Report Every Dangerous Driver Immediately — Troopers had responded to a concerned caller after Rupright had reportedly pulled out of the shelter parking lot that day.

Rupright claimed recently he was cleared of being intoxicated. “I never drive impaired,” he said last month.

However, as Wasilla City Councilwoman Dianne Woodruff pointed out recently, REDDI calls are not only for possible drunk drivers. They are for all suspected dangerous drivers.

Rupright’s response to frustrations about the way his call was handled culminated in his issuing an administrative order one month later mandating that when MATCOM emergency dispatchers receive a REDDI call, they are to check a list of 160 city employees to determine if an employee is involved in the report.

If the dispatcher determines a city employee could be driving the vehicle, the dispatcher must also notify Wasilla police of the call — no matter where in the Valley the vehicle was spotted.

In the past when a REDDI call came in, dispatchers only sent a WPD officer if the vehicle was within city limits or actually involved a city vehicle. Under the new policy, city employees are treated differently from the general public.

Rupright claims the policy is necessary to protect the city from liability.

“Impaired driving is a serious issue,” Rupright said last month. “When I realized that there was no written policy that ensures our police force follows up on calls related to employees, I knew we needed something to protect the integrity of the city as well as the safety of the residents.”

Rupright is facing opposition for his seat in the October election from Councilwoman Taffina Katkus, former Bristol Palin fiancée Levi Johnston and possibly Woodruff. He said last month he wouldn’t comment on the details of the Jan. 8 call because of an internal investigation into the way his call was handled.

Katkus and Woodruff have spoken out against Rupright’s new REDDI policy and Woodruff said this week she doesn’t understand why the city’s new police chief, Gene Belden, won’t release his department’s report on the Jan. 8 incident.

“It’s my understanding that it’s not a personnel matter, yet that’s what he’s giving as a reason for not releasing it,” Woodruff said. “The whole thing is just very strange.”

Belden was hired earlier this year after Rupright dismissed former chief Mike Hughes, who had been with the city for 10 months.

“I’m so trying to support Verne, but this situation really has me upset,” Woodruff said. “As far as I knew, Chief Hughes was doing a great job. There have been a number of terminations and staff turnovers under Verne’s watch. This is what is irritating a lot of us in the community who voted for Verne and supported him.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.