Chief Michael Kerle was confirmed at the Anchorage Assembly meeting last night. He was sworn-in as the Anchorage Chief of Police today at the Anchorage Police Headquarters.

Chief Kerle shared the following statement at his swearing-in:

“Thank you to our Anchorage community who recognize, and greatly appreciate, the sacrifice and dedication of our police officers, and their willingness to put their lives on the line to protect others.  Strong relationships of mutual trust between the police agencies and the communities they serve are critical to maintaining public safety and effective policing.  To those members of the community that are hesitant or reluctant to trust or work with our department, let us communicate through fact based dialogue to resolve our differences in order for all members of our community to feel safe and build on the future through mutual cooperation.

Thank you to all who work alongside me at the Anchorage Police Department.  We have the finest professionals in law enforcement here at our department.  Working at the police department is about service to others.  Our sworn and non-sworn personnel love the community we serve and selflessly work to make the community safer and a great place to live.  It is my privilege to lead this department going forward.”