Juneau Police Chief Ed Mercer is set to retire next week after thirty years in police work within Southeast Alaska.
Mercer was raised and born in Sitka The city was his birthplace, and he began working as a Police official in Sitka. He’s been employed by the Juneau Police Department since coming to town in the year 2000, and he’s been in charge of the department for the past six years.
Mercer has been a Lingit from the Raven Coho clan. He was Juneau’s very first Alaska Native police chief and was honored in 2012 by the Alaska Federation of Natives for public service. His tenure as chief was marked by major changes in technology, as well as the conversation on both sides of the border about policing as well in a global epidemic.
The Deputy Chief David Campbell will serve as interim police chief until a permanent chief is chosen.
Adelyn Baxter from KTOO spoke to the Chief Mercer about his retirement plans. Chief Mercer said one of the most significant changes in his career is that it’s becoming more difficult and more difficult to find people willing to work in the police force.
The transcript was edited to increase clarity and length.
Ed Mercer: It’s very difficult to find people who want to go to law enforcement, and then be out doing the job. It’s not an easy job. It’s also a very rewarding one. It’s true that you need to search for the details that make a difference in the job, so far as they go. There’s one thing I consider to be unusual in the present time and in this day and age.
I believe that working on criminal cases can be extremely complicated. They’ve always been. And, you know, I believe we’ve tried various options in our state such as criminal reform to address social problems, and not only thinking about putting people into prison as a way of solving a problem. The problem is that it doesn’t disappear. It was a challenge being an officer on the police force and working cases difficult, especially when habitual offenders repeatedly commit crimes and appear on the streets. Then you must deal with the victim of the situation and they’re the ones who say “Well how do I go from all this? I feel as if I’ve been victimized.” We have come across different theories and theories when it comes to the way we police and what’s effective. We’re trying to figure out how.
There’s a lot of education available on the market, I’m talking about we’re looking at lots related to mental illness are affecting us and perhaps tackling it in a different manner. CBJ as well as the City have accomplished a fantastic job of offering services and programs, working with homeless people, Glory Hall and a cold weather shelter, and many other services that aim to provide services in the best way we can to assist people in getting to where they need, move to work and hopefully be free of their current situation. These are just a few of the things that I never thought I’d see in my professional career.
Then I realized that … It was a shock. had never imagined I’d have to deal with an epidemic. That was difficult for me. When you think about the situation the people were taking a backseat and settling in their homes. The police could not do that. They needed to be on the streets They had to be in the street helping the people who called for assistance. The situation was not much different in that scene. Then things became more difficult. People take care of their health and wellbeing. sending your officers out into the world and serve as the frontline, and offer the assistance. I’m pleased to say that we accomplished it. And we did it as though we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic. We just attempted to put preventative measures in place to safeguard our employees while out on the streets.
Adelyn Baxter The topic you brought up was staffing and clearly it’s been a major problem for police departments across Alaska as well as across the country. One of your officers attended Juneau Afternoon last week and presented an interesting thing I didn’t think of prior to. That is, the fact that police officers in Juneau are part of their own community. This isn’t always the situation in other communities across the nation. What do you think influences the way in which police are able to operate in Juneau?
Ed Mercer: I think it’s a positive thing because, irrespective the fact that you’re a law enforcement officer in the Police Department, it’s a part in the local community. Your children attend the same schools, you’re in the same location, you participate in certain functions in the community, and you participate with the community in this way. You’re part of the community, as opposed to being into a community, and then conducting policing, only to leave and not have that connection.
You’re rightI’m talking about my entire career in law enforcement growing to be a citizen of Sitka becoming an officer in Sitka and then having to assist with the police of the community along with my family members I knew as a child. It was a bit difficult and a bit awkward at first. However, I think you develop trust and a rapport with those you work with. They, you know, get an inch better with time. I believe that’s the kind of experience the people of Juneau receives when the Juneau police officer come at your door, or contact them and request assistance or find them out in public.
I’ve always said that we are able to police our community differently from other communities. We have more compassion for our residents and are trying to be a part of the solution to the issue, rather than simply “Well I’m going to go to another call for help and then I’ll go home, and I’m I’m going to become part of the community.” .”
Adelyn Baxter: And in the area of recruitment in Juneau, you were the very first Alaska Native chief of police and most likely one of the very first in the state. Also, I’m wondering what you’ve observed regarding the hiring process and the way that it affects the composition of the police force in Juneau as well as other areas of the state – increasing the number of Alaska Native and Indigenous officers and how that could lead to improved policing?
Ed Mercer: Always trying to recruit people of different races to join the police force is a great thing in the sense that it is. In one instance I think we had as many as five Alaska Natives and a stateside Indian in the police force. Many of them have had retired, with me in the near future. This is an area we have to work towards and to try to get. Women police officers are needed to do their job, too. We were definitely over the average for our country in that regard. And I believe it’s crucial for us to to create diversity within the police department to ensure that you can be a part of the people you’re out and about and so on. It’s a huge challenge. It’s certainly not going to be straightforward. I believe you must overcome stereotypes and barriers regarding the way a police officer appears like. And I’m hoping that, you’re aware that myself and other police officers of minority backgrounds are doing to ensure that young minds are able to look at it and say, “Maybe that’s something I could achieve,” and then be the role model the same way.
Adelyn Baxter What’s the most important thing for anyone who replaces you to remember in taking over the reigns of Juneau Police Department?
Ed Mercer: You know that we accomplished lots of great things in this agency. And I’m not taking credit for everything. You need someone who is innovative in their thinking and try to stay ahead of the curve. I was extremely proud especially after we had gone through the highly controversy-filled George Floyd incident. Many of the requirements were made of police officers from the Juneau Police Department, we already had the tools in place. We had body-worn cameras, we had use-of force reporting. We were able communicate the things we’re doing every day and then provide the information to the public in order to be assured that we’re performing the correct thing, and so on. Therefore, having someone who is always thinking ahead.
What I’ve discovered is that I’m not capable of doing it by on my own, I depend heavily on my team including my command staff, my supervisors in the front line and all supervisors within my department and my line staff my support staff, to be on the job and complete every day. Take your time with them. You are aware that they have a difficult job. And, as you can imagine when it’s not them there’s someone else. Therefore, having a leader who is the next chief in office who understands the local community, is aware of Alaska and our region and more will be extremely valuable but that’s not to say you won’t be able to learn.
Be engaged. You see I’m not a very social person. You know I was forced to come to terms with my shyness in a variety of different ways to interact with various groups. Sit down with them and engage in conversations whenever it is necessary or before. Therefore, having that engagement with the community is vital.
