Residents may have noticed a new Haines Borough Police Department vehicle cruising around town lately. Or maybe they haven’t, because the black 2008 Dodge Charger is unmarked. Interim manager Brad Ryan said the vehicle came from Hoonah and cost $8,000. About a month ago, it replaced the Ford 500 the department was “having problems with,” he said.

Interim chief Josh Dryden said the vehicle belonged to the U.S. Forest Service before coming to Hoonah.

“We didn’t have the money for a new vehicle and trying to find a used police vehicle in Southeast Alaska is really hard. It’s unheard of. When this came up, I jumped on it,” Dryden said.

Because of its lack of markings or overhead lights, some have speculated the car is intended for “undercover” operations and questioned how something like that would work in a small town.

“The intention is not for it to be undercover, but eventually get markings consistent with our other vehicles. However, that will be the chief’s decision when he arrives,” Ryan said.

Heath Scott of Washington, D.C., recently accepted the job as police chief. He is negotiating a contract with incoming manager William Seward.

If the department was buying an undercover vehicle, it wouldn’t pick one that sticks out like a sore thumb in rural Alaska, Dryden added.

“It’s a black Charger. Everybody knows who it is,” he said.

“They watch a lot of TV,” Dryden added of the residents with theories about the “undercover” vehicle. “It’s just a car. It has lights and sirens. It’s getting a cage. We’re not trying to ‘get’ people.”

The Ford 500, which is being used as a regular borough vehicle now, was not cut out for police work, Dryden said.

“It was not a police car; it wasn’t meant to be a police car,” Dryden said of the Ford 500. “(The Charger) is more capable of handling rigorous use, stuff like that.”

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