The State House Community and Regional Affairs Committee took testimony today on a bill that would allow village public safety officers to carry firearms in the line of duty.
The bill would allow the officers to carry firearms after meeting certain training standards but it would not require VSPOs to be armed, that decision would be left to the hiring agencies.
Testimony from State Trooper Sergeant Jesse Carson was in opposition.
Carson: “I’ll agree with Masters and several other people have said it, the State of Alaska is getting much more dangerous and we do need to look at what we send VPSOs to. As an armed officer there are many nights that I’m scared to go into a situation, I couldn’t imagine going into it unarmed. But handing an untrained or lesser trained person a weapon isn’t the answer to it, all its doing is placing Alaskan’s and officers at risk. What we have to do is not place them in those situations and the answer to that is tough, the answer to that is expensive but its a place to have certified police officers, people that can handle the situation.”
Joe Masters, former commissioner for the Department of Public Safety, said it was time for the state to allow the arming of VPSO. He told the committee that violence has been increasing in rural Alaska since 2002, and that’s making the positions more dangerous.
Barrow Representative Benjamin Nageak was in favor of the bill’s concept.
Nageak: “I don’t think we want State Troopers but we need police officers, or some sort of sanctions, state sanctions force within those villages, and then we have to find out what its going to cost.”
Dillingham Representative Bryce Edgmon was spurred to sponsor the bill following last year’s shooting death of VPSO Thomas Madole in Mankotak.
Alaska currently has 93 VPSOs.