Interim borough police chief Michael Fullerton completed his official last day on the job at the end of April, leaving Haines with only two police officers splitting round-the-clock policing.
That critical understaffing might be a new normal, with borough staff saying they face an uphill climb in hiring new police officers.
Interim borough manager Alekka Fullerton said the borough contacted local state park ranger Jacques Turcotte and the new Haines wildlife trooper to make them aware of the situation. Those officers will be available as backup for the two Haines Borough police officers, Maxwell Jusi and Travis Russell, Fullerton said. But they will not be taking on any regular borough policing shifts.
Fullerton also said the Alaska State Troopers have been sending an officer “every once in a while to help,” and they will continue to do so.
The proposed budget for the upcoming year lists five police officer positions, meaning the department is currently only 40% staffed. Fullerton said the borough has received six applications since August, and three withdrew on their own. Two of those six have applied in the last 30 days and are still in consideration.
To complicate things further, only two of the six total applicants have prior police experience, Fullerton said. A candidate without those qualifications would have to attend training school in Sitka to become a law enforcement officer. That would be a significant delay, and a significant cost: the training runs 17 weeks, and can only be started in July or January. The borough would pay for the training, and also the officer’s salary during the training. Officers certified in other states but not Alaska would have to complete a minimum of 80 hours of classroom and practical recertification before beginning work.
Ordinarily, new hires would be made by the police chief, borough clerk Mike Denker said. But the borough has not had a non-interim chief since former chief Josh Dryden stepped down in November 2024.
The current finalist in the police chief search, Jimmy Yoakum, is set to visit town in the next month, according to Denker, but that hire is not final. Until a hire happens, interim borough manager Alekka Fullerton would be the one making any police officer hires.
Fullerton said she can and will do so, particularly if an officer already certified in Alaska applies.
“We would act very quickly if it was someone who could start right away,” Fullerton said.