Is anyone here old enough to remember “The Policeman Is Your Friend”??
The state put them there, now the troppers must justify the expense.
Maybe the Aniaks should move. /s
Is there some resource that the state of Alaske knows about that the Aniaks don't? I mean, other that the potential fine money temporarily residing in the Aniaks pockets, wallets and purses that obviously belongs to the state who will take it, by force of law if necessary.
I know my opinion on law enforcement officers is sensible, because I’ve been flamed by both the “cops can do no wrong” crowd and the “all cops are evil” crowd.
Sounds like the troopers are being heavy-handed here, however, the villagers’ playing of the race card reduces their credibility. If ghetto blacks or Hispanics complained that the cops in their ‘hood were racist oppressors, I bet no one here would be supporting the complainers.
If the villagers didn’t play the race card, I’d be strongly on their side. There’s no evidence of any racism and most likely the troopers would still be throwing their weight around if the villagers were white. Plenty of whiteys have suffered injustice at the hands of corrupt cops. It’s not just a minority issue.
If this village is a reservation area...then they can kick the cops out. If this is not a reservation area...then the state can keep the cops there.
What is strange about this case...based on limited info on the internet....is a very sorted amount of facts.
First...our buddy...Senator Stevens (the corrupted Republican)...fixed up a bill in 2003 to provide the tribal groups money for court and police forces in Alaska...but then he packaged the entire deal into one situation...the state police and state court system. His simple explanation...too many tribal areas and giving money to each one just wouldn’t work (that was precisely he said in 2003).
The tribe in Aniak tried to sue the federal government but it appears that nothing was accomplished (2005)...to get their own police force and court established.
The town itself of Aniak...has around 550 in population. Interestingly enough...the town has seven registered sex offenders...a fair percentage for a male population of 298.
Nowhere on the internet...do you find the number of state police in this area...which is kinda curious. My best guess would be a total of three individuals. Based on the reports in the local weekly paper there...the majority of arrests all have to do with alcohol (property damage while drunk or fighting while drunk or spousal abuse while drunk). So in the middle of the day...when most guys aren’t drunk...the cop is probably looking for some crime to busy himself, and thus arrests kids for hunting without a license or such.
I would suggest that the tribe just starts video-taping these episodes and putting them on Youtube. The state police chief will get tired of jokes and move the three present guys out....bringing in fresh folks...who might be a bit more relaxed in their attitudes.
I live in the Mat-Su part of Alaska where we have had some pretty bad drug issues the last couple of years but from day one when I moved to Alaska I have noticed one thing above others, stay well clear of a drinking Alaskan native, native I use for a generic term of what others outside would call Eskimos but in reality its quite a few different tribes like the Athabaskan, Tlingit, Aleutians etc.
Once again, the benefit of the doubt on Free Republic goes against the cops. You have one post here claiming the cops are bad and a number of responses tending to agree. Let’s hope the Alaskans in this village can sleep better knowing the nearest law enforcement may be 200 miles away.
“”...we do not have the option or authority to decide not to serve the people of Aniak.””
THAT, is a truly Orwellian statement. We don’t have the authority not to be authoritarian.