Wasilla council hears community policing presentation

WASILLA — The Wasilla City Council held a special meeting on policing in the 21st century, hearing presentations from Wasilla Police Chief Joel Smith and city attorney Aaron Sperbeck on the city of Wasilla’s public safety model in a committee on the whole.

Smith took over as interim Police Chief in November of 2019 and was promoted to full-time Chief by Mayor Glenda Ledford last November. Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in social work and volunteered to staff a suicide hotline, continuing to volunteer after graduation. Smith began his career in Alaska as a social worker and started as a reserve officer with PPD in 1996 before joining WPD in 2000.

Over the last year, Wasilla Police have responded to over 28,000 incidents. Smith detailed partnerships with community members and organizations, including the School Resource Officer program that Wasilla sponsors, putting WPD officers at Wasilla High School, Colony and Houston campuses. The youth court program offers alternative options for first time juvenile offenders, and the k-9 program was funded by donations, which still pay for the K-9 budget today. Nearly all WPD officers have been trained in mental health first aid and Smith detailed the rigorous training over eight months required to become a WPD officer. Trainees will attend a 16-week course at the Department of Public Safety academy in Sitka and return for 16 weeks of training with WPD officers, which follow the San Jose field training model for field officer training.

Additionally, Lieutenant Ruth Josten quizzes WPD officers monthly on Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) along with skill training. Last month, WPD officers were tested on negotiating strategies. The SOP for the WPD is over 500 pages and was last updated in 2019, and provides policies and procedures for every element of a police officer’s job, including sections on anti-discrimnation, public perception, and use of force.

“The WPD subscribes to a policy of equality in the provision of service to a member of the public shall not be influenced by that persons race, sex, creed, employment, political standing or beliefs, or any other characteristics,” reads SOP Chapter 1.014 titled “discriminatory and prejudicial behavior prohibited.”

Each time a WPD officer uses force, lethal or non-lethal, that use of force is reviewed independently on several different levels by WPD, including Chief Smith. Wasilla Police also employ a use of force continuum, nine steps that range from officer presence to use of deadly force.

“Reasonable force is not judged with hindsight and will take into account, where appropriate, the fact that officers must make rapid decisions regarding the amount of force to be used in tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving situations. Important factors to be considered when deciding how much force can be used to apprehend a suspect include, but are not limited to, the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight. This policy guideline applies to all use of force, including deadly force,” reads WPD Policies and Procedures.

Among the members of the Wasilla council, James Harvey serves as a reserve Sergeant in the Palmer Police Department and Simon Brown II served for the Alaska State Troopers in Palmer as a Captain before retiring in 2006. Brown asked specific questions about how the use of force is taught to WPD officers and if any methods were prohibited. City attorney Aaron Sperbeck also presented on what is defined as “reasonable force.”

“All use of force policies, no matter if it’s in Wasilla or if it’s in California, those use of force policies will be guided by long standing legal principles that tell us what is a reasonable use of force, how should the force be applied in particular situations,” said Sperbeck.

Brown questioned Smith how he planned on engaging Alaska Native communities, African American communities and hispanic communities that may not have relationships with law enforcement officers, and questioned if the use of the chokehold was still employed by WPD officers, noting that Alaska State Troopers had begun advising against it nearly two decades ago.

“I wanted to make sure that whatever policies we have in place, that they are looked from a viewpoint of how will this affect the public, how this will serve the public, how this will protect the public and hopefully you will give legal advice how he can protect his officers at the same time. Don’t forget that major, major piece of public safety and that’s the public,” said Brown. “My point is, how do we do do things so that when the public see us do it we don’t get letters like we got in the paper and to the city and to a bunch of us, like what happened at Walmart, nobody wants the officers to be hurt but I also want to leave the the citizens some dignity and respect also.”

Smith answered questions at great length about his feelings about the use of body cameras. Smith noted that nearly every WPD car is equipped with two cameras, one in the dashboard and one in the rear seat. The cameras are not always turned on, but automatically begin recording when officers travel faster than 70 mph or turn on their sirens. When more WPD cars arrive shortly, each vehicle will be equipped with cameras. Councilman Jordan Rausa questioned Smith at length on his standing on body cameras. Smith noted that the budgetary constraints of WPD did not allow for purchase of body cameras.

“I understand new things come out every year and technology changes and we don’t always need the best of the best or the newest latest model, but I think body cams definitely serve a purpose. They don’t solve the issues, you can look at a body cam and miss a lot of what’s going on because you can’t see what’s going on around you, you can’t feel the presence, just like any other camera. It does miss out on some things but it does offer some benefit as well,” said Harvey.

Sperbeck advises police departments across Alaska and commended the council for their discussion and questions on police department policies and standards.

“I think we are all pretty much in agreement that we do have a very very good top notch police department,” said Mayor Glenda Ledford. “One reason Wasilla grows is because we have a police department, because people feel safe here.”