Haines Borough interim police chief Josh Dryden said officer Brayton Long’s recent resignation was not solicited by the department, and was not a result of two high-profile incidents involving Long.

“He was not pressured to resign in any way. There is nothing like that going on,” Dryden said this week. “I think that I was very supportive and tried to make him feel we could get through this. I hope that’s the impression he got.”

Interim manager Brad Ryan said there was no pressure on behalf of the administration. “Everybody makes decisions for themselves, and hopefully it was the best decision for him,” Ryan said.

Ryan said he received email notification of Long’s resignation on May 4.

Long said in an interview Wednesday he is leaving the job to pursue other interests, including writing and possibly starting a tourism-related business in Haines. He is currently working on a children’s adventure book, teaming up with his wife, who is an illustrator.

“It’s going slow and I don’t want it to keep lingering,” Long said of the project. “It’s something I really want to do.”

“I want to be more creative in life. Doing police work, it’s always contentious,” he added.

Long was hired by the Haines police department in November. Prior to that, he worked for five years as an officer in Skagway.

In early January, Long accidentally shot himself in the left wrist with a Glock 21 during a training session at the Haines Sportsman’s Association rifle range on Mud Bay Road. Long acknowledged people might speculate the accident contributed to his decision to resign, but he insisted that isn’t the case.

“I guess a person could if they wanted to sit around and go, ‘Oh, woe is me,’ and this happened or that happened. I don’t look at things that way. I have to stay on a positive note. It was what it was, and fortunately it was minimal damage and (the) healing is fast. I’ve got to move forward,” he said.

Accidental shootings are an occupational hazard of being an officer, he said. “It’s like (if) a carpenter cuts their thumb off in the shop or something like that. Do they not still get to be a carpenter if they want to? Or if you crash your car, do they take your car away from you?”

On April 26, Long responded with Alaska State Trooper Drew Neason to a 911 call reporting gunshots on Small Tracts Road. The two residents involved – Dave and Kory Stickler – accused the two law enforcement personnel of drawing their weapons and using excessive force; Long and interim chief Dryden maintain Long’s response was by the book.

“I wouldn’t do anything differently,” Long said of the Small Tracts Road incident. “I did what I was supposed to do, the way I was trained to do it.”

Long said he believes the current officers on the job – interim chief Dryden, officer Chris Brown and temporary hire Jordan Welch – are solid cops, but that a lot hinges on who the borough ultimately hires as the department’s permanent chief.

Long, who has family in Haines, said he plans to stay in town.

“There’s been a couple of unfortunate dynamics that took place, but I would hope that people would look past any personal issues, agendas (or) grudges. Because I don’t hold any. I try to treat everybody as fairly as I possibly can,” he said.

Long will work until the end of May.

Author