The entire police force of a small Alaska town quit in July, leaving the 1,000 locals there without any law enforcement.
Sand Point had a police force of three officers and a police chief until mid-July. The population of the island town grows by several hundred people during the commercial fishing season in the summer.
The first police officer quit on July 10 when his military wife was transferred out of state, according to city manager Ander Varner who spoke with Alaska Dispatch News. To make matters worse, two more officers—a married couple—quit their jobs shortly afterward “to take care of some personal family issues.”
Roger Bacon, the police chief, was the last man standing until the time came for his long-awaited vacation to Scotland. When the chief announced his intention to go away for a whole month, the city council made a decision that he wouldn’t have a job when he came back.
With Bacon gone, the town was left without a police force at the peak of the commercial fishing and processing season.
The city released a public service announcement on July 20 calling for calm and assuring locals that “the community will NOT be in a lawless state” while the police department is “in transition.”
According to Austin Roof, a local radio host, things went smoothly while the town had no police department.
“Everyone was busy fishing, which was great,” Roof said.
