Palmer Police Chief placed on administrative leave

PALMER — Palmer Police Department Chief Dwayne Shelton has been placed on administrative leave with pay after past social media posts on his personal Facebook page drew heavy attention early in the week.

Shelton, who was promoted to police chief in 2019, was placed on leave Tuesday, according to city of Palmer officials.

“The City of Palmer (City) rejects the ideas contained in the past inappropriate social media postings by Palmer Police Chief Shelton who is currently on administrative leave with pay. Instead the City recognizes and respects the diversity of our society and promotes the principles of tolerance and equality embedded in the Constitutional underpinnings of our Nation. In furtherance of these principles the City will review the Palmer Police Departments (PPD) diversity training practices with the objective of robustly promoting and supplementing this training for the entire police department,” city officials wrote in a statement.

A number of screenshots from Shelton’s Facebook page were rapidly shared on social media Monday night and Tuesday. They included a post from Sept. 6, 2018, in which Shelton called the “Black Lives Matter” movement, “a hate group plain and simple.”

Palmer Mayor Edna DeVries was made aware of the circulating screenshots on social media on Monday night and directed acting city manager Brad Hanson to meet with city attorney Michael Gatti to discuss the personnel issue Tuesday morning.

“We wanted to do kind of an evaluation and a review of some of the things we do over at the police department and then be able to make a little bit better decisions,” said Hanson. “I think everybody has the right to speak freely and discuss what they wish within certain contexts but at the same respect you know there’s some accountability as well and depending on your relative role that accountability may be way less or may more and so that was all part of the consideration.”

Shelton has been with the Palmer Police Department since 1999, according to the department’s webpage. He worked undercover for the Mat-Su Narcotics Office from 2002-2006, and also from 2011-2012. He also served as a sergeant in the department, and was promoted to commander in June of 2015. Commander Shayne LaCroix has assumed leadership of PPD while Shelton is on leave.

The city’s action comes just more than a week after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd, an African-American, was seen on video with the knee of a white police officer pressed against his neck as he was face down on the pavement. In the days and nights since Floyd’s death, protests have been staged in cities across the county, including Anchorage on May 30. There has also been mass violence seen in many of those cities.

Hanson was appointed as acting manager after the departure of Nathan Wallace in April prior to current Mat-Su Borough Manager John Moosey taking over as manager later in June. Hanson said that action regarding Shelton’s future with PPD will not be delayed.

“It’s going to go at a normal pace. It’s not going to be deferred for somebody else,” said Hanson.

Following a barrage of communication on Monday, DeVries said she spoke personally with nearly 40 individuals about the screenshots from Shelton’s Facebook page. DeVries directed Palmer City Council members not to respond, preventing a possible violation of the Open Meetings Act. The next meeting of the Palmer City Council will take place on June 9.

“I was surprised at the posts because I never got that feeling in talking to him, either personally or professionally, that that was a part of his determination regarding how he handles himself,” said DeVries. “I anticipate at our Tuesday night council meeting we’re going to have a lot of audience participation and were just hoping and praying and doing everything practical that we can.”

There is a “peaceful protest for Black Lives Matter” scheduled for Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. in Palmer.