Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
04/30/2024 10:00 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB122 | |
| HB169 | |
| HB234 | |
| HB55 | |
| HB145 | |
| Adjourn | |
| HB55 |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 187 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 234 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 55 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 145 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 169 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 122 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HOUSE BILL NO. 234
"An Act relating to police officer training;
establishing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous
Persons Review Commission; relating to missing and
murdered indigenous persons; relating to the duties of
the Department of Public Safety; and providing for an
effective date."
2:25:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CJ MCCORMICK, SPONSOR, provided opening
remarks and explained the bill with prepared remarks:
The high statistics of missing and murdered indigenous
people, referred to often as MMIP, MMIW, or MMIWG2S,
have become widely known in the public consciousness
with the recent proliferation of studies in tandem
with modern media including or profiling the issue.
However, this has been an epidemic experienced by
indigenous communities across the state, nation, and
greater continent for a very long time. When I speak
on this issue, I often make the error of speaking
exclusively from a rural Alaska perspective, so I want
to be sure to convey that this does impact every
region of Alaska be it urban, rural, or in between. I
should note that this is an incredibly personal issue.
Individuals myself and even my staffer know are
actually referenced by name in the supporting
documents that we provided on this bill and this
crisis affects everyone in the state.
In summary, House Bill 234 equips the State of Alaska,
law enforcement, communities, families, and tribes
with the tools to protect individuals each day and to
put to rest cold cases that have been around for much,
much too long. House Bill 234 answers the call to many
who have felt ignored by the system and forgotten in
that system. House Bill 234 makes meaningful effort to
bring our families home, to provide closure of many
who have waited too long for justice.
Representative McCormick asked his staff to review a
sectional analysis. He listed invited testifiers available
online.
CALLAN CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE CJ
MCCORMICK, reviewed the sectional analysis (copy on file):
Section 1: Amends AS 18.65.240(a) by adding a
mandatory cultural training to the requirement
standards as an appointed police officer and
stipulates this training be administered by an
indigenous coordinator or entity.
Section 2: Amends AS 18.65.620, stipulating the duty
of law enforcement agencies to submit a missing person
report to the National Missing and Unidentified
Persons System within 30 days of an initial report.
Section 3: Amends AS 18.65.630(a) to provide a form to
the family, next of kin, or legal guardian of the
missing person authorizing the release of medical and
dental records to the National Missing and
Unidentified Persons System at the time of a missing
persons report.
Section 4: Amends AS 18.65.630(c) to include
submission of medical and dental records of a missing
person to the National Missing and Unidentified
Persons System.
Ms. Chythlook-Sifsof noted that Sections 3 and 4 were
general baseline processes for the National Missing and
Unidentified Persons System. She continued the sectional
analysis:
Section 5: Adds a subsection to AS 18.65.630 which
stipulates that when available, law enforcement
agencies will submit fingerprints, photographs, and
voluntary DNA samples from family members of the
missing person to the National Missing and
Unidentified Persons System.
Section 6: Amends AS 44.41 by adding Sec. 44.41.023,
directing the Department of Public Safety to employee
at least four persons to investigate cases involving
missing and murdered indigenous peoples and act as
liaisons between law enforcement agencies, communities
in the state, and federally recognized tribes.
Section 7: Amends the uncodified law of the State of
Alaska by adding the Missing and Murdered Indigenous
Persons Review Commission.
Section 8: Directs the Department of Public Safety to
conduct a needs assessment to determine how to
increase protective and investigative resources for
identifying and reporting cases of missing and
murdered indigenous persons within the state criminal
justice system. No later than January 1, 2025, the
department must submit a written report to the Senate
Secretary and Chief Clerk of the House of
Representatives and notify the legislature that the
report is ready.
Section 9: Stipulates that police officers with a
certificate issued under AS 18.65.240 on or before the
effective date of this Act, be granted two years from
the effective date of this Act to fulfill the
requirements.
Section 10: Sets a sunset date for Section 8 of
January 1, 2026.
Section 11: Sets a sunset date for Section 7 of
January 1, 2027.
Section 12: Sets an effective date of January 1, 2025.
Ms. Chythlook-Sifsof relayed there were several changes to
Senator Donny Olson's bill SB 151 that she could speak to
at any time.
2:32:27 PM
Co-Chair Foster moved to invited testimony.
Representative McCormick requested to hear from Ms. Kloster
first.
KENDRA KLOSTER, CO-DIRECTOR, LAW AND POLICY, ALASKA NATIVE
WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER (via teleconference), introduced
herself. She shared that she was also a member of the
MMIG2S Alaska working group comprised of five Alaska Native
nonprofits working together to support efforts of missing
or murdered indigenous persons (MMIP) and related issues.
She discussed how the bill had come about. The working
group had been working on the MMIP crisis and ways to end
it on a number of different fronts. The bill was a result
of conversations with the community and identifying what
was happening. She detailed that it was a generational
issue that had come to light in 2018 with the Urban Indian
Health Institute Report and a couple of years later with
Data For Indigenous Justice reports that put Alaska in the
top five states with the highest number of MMIP cases and
Anchorage as one of the top cities experiencing the
problem. The problem had been known for a long time, but
the data was finally available showing the severity. She
stated Alaska was standing in a place it did not want to be
in for the safety of its people.
Ms. Kloster explained that the working group reached out to
community members and vice versa to identify gaps in the
system and what needed to be done. The group had a good
working relationship with the Department of Public Safety
(DPS) and the commissioner in talking about what needed to
be done. She relayed the MMIP investigative unit [within
DPS] had been developed and had four investigators, which
was an important step. Additionally, an assistant attorney
general [within the Department of Law] for MMIP had been
hired the previous year. The bill identified specific
pieces including solidifying the MMIP investigator
positions in statute. She explained that the step was
necessary because currently the positions relied on the
budget from year-to-year. She emphasized there were so many
MMIP cases that could not be dropped, making stability for
the investigator positions important.
Ms. Kloster spoke to the cultural training component of the
bill. She explained there had been barriers between law
enforcement and others in the communities. She elaborated
that law enforcement officers and others traveling to rural
Alaska were not always familiar with the community or the
culture. There were numerous things that happened around
communication barriers. Ensuring ongoing cultural training
for all law enforcement officers was important to build
relations and for officers to understand what it was like
to live in different parts of the state. She noted there
had been conversations and work with the DPS commissioner
on the cultural training, which was an important piece of
the bill. The review commission was coming about because
the working group was hearing from families that different
cases were getting different levels of attention. She spoke
to the need to look at all of the different cases, solve
them, understand what was going well, and learn what may be
going wrong and how to fix it.
Ms. Kloster referenced the companion bill SB 151 and
appreciated that the bill kept the commission. She remarked
that it came from a conversation and understanding that it
was a long-term issue and there would be continued review.
She highlighted that all of the work going to MMIP was good
for the public safety of all people across Alaska. She
assured the committee they would continue to work on the
efforts and to partner with all entities going forward. She
understood the bill was one piece of the solution.
Ms. Kloster pointed out that currently HB 234 included four
investigator positions whereas SB 151 had two positions.
She supported the inclusion of four positions in the final
bill as it reflected the four MMIP investigator positions
currently housed in DPS. She stated the individuals were
doing fantastic work. She noted there were enough cases to
warrant even more investigator positions. She thanked the
committee.
2:39:45 PM
Representative Hannan asked for clarity on the number of
investigator positions in the bill. She did not believe the
bill before the committee had four positions.
Ms. Kloster answered there were four investigators included
in HB 234, which was the bill before the committee. She
clarified that there were currently four investigator
positions [within DPS] funded through the budget. She
explained that Senator Olson's bill [SB 151] included two
MMIP investigators.
Representative Hannan asked about the difference between
the two bills Ms. Kloster had mentioned.
Ms. Kloster responded that HB 234 was currently before the
committee. Additionally, the companion bill, SB 151, passed
the Senate recently and was also currently in the House
Finance Committee.
Representative Hannan relayed that Ms. Kloster had been her
student.
2:42:15 PM
CHARLENE APOK, NATIVE MOVEMENT, AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
DATA FOR INDIGENOUS JUSTICE, ANCHORAGE (via
teleconference), shared that she began actively working on
the issue since 2018, but as a survivor family member of
MMIP cases she realized more recently she had been prepared
to work on the issue her entire life through her life
experiences. She relayed that she was a story keeper, many
families across Alaska and from the Lower 48 had shared
stories with her for many years. As a result, she began
tracking data beginning in 2018 for and with the community.
She explained that prior to that time, the information was
not being tracked and it was needed in order to make
informed decision making. The issue had been happening for
a long time and was ongoing. She relayed that too many
families were still experiencing losses at the present
time.
Ms. Apok that the bill was an essential first step for the
state to take in addressing the issue. She highlighted the
complexity of the issue that included components of
cultural training data and many other pieces. She noted it
would take everyone coming together to do the work. The
bill had come from many partnerships and conversations with
families and DPS including investigators. Having a pathway
to justice and having equitable work done to address the
crisis called for doing something different than the status
quo. She noted that funding positions through a bill like
HB 234 was not typical, but she believed it was necessary
to be bold and do something different. Otherwise, it meant
merely upholding an insufficient system that was not
working to address MMIP. She was honored to see the bill
put forward.
Ms. Apok echoed Ms. Kloster's testimony on the need to
maintain the current four investigator positions. She
relayed that the investigators were doing good work and
they had said there was enough work for a lifetime. From a
data perspective, there was a backlog of myriad unresolved
cases and there was not currently capacity to take on new
cases.
Ms. Apok discussed the data component pertaining to the
bill. She shared that she had traveled to Juneau in January
and had some very good conversations. One of the questions
she had been asked was why reporting needed to be mandated
if DPS was already putting data into the federal database.
Her response had been that there were administration
changes and long-term data infrastructure support was
needed. She noted that it was a no-cost request. She
explained that including it would allow the state to build
better data infrastructure long-term to keep tracking and
having cross referencing points on the issue. She was
available for questions. She supported the cultural
training component of the bill because based on experience
it could build needed partnership and trust in communities
with law enforcement. She supported maintaining the
commission. She thanked the committee and the sponsor.
2:47:55 PM
Representative Tomaszewski asked for verification that
Sections 1 and 9 specified existing police officers would
have two years to complete the [cultural] training.
Ms. Chythlook-Sifsof confirmed that Section 9 specified
that officers with a police officer certificate received on
or before the bill's effective date would have two years to
comply with the class.
Representative Tomaszewski asked if the program was
currently ready to go. He observed that it would be
administered by an indigenous coordinator or entity. He
thought it would take time to build the program and
remarked that there would be a shorter amount of time for
existing police officers to get the training.
Ms. Chythlook-Sifsof answered it was her understanding that
the training program was already implemented but not in
state statute. Additionally, there had been long-term
discussions between the MMIPG2S working group about the
program. She deferred to the DPS commissioner for
additional information.
2:50:52 PM
JAMES COCKRELL, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY,
replied that currently DPS provided cultural training to
all individuals going to the Public Safety Training
Academy. The department also provided cultural awareness
training for its personnel. He relayed that the department
and its tribal liaisons was looking at cultural awareness
training currently being offered to other agencies like the
federal government in order to incorporate their
requirements into the bill.
Representative Tomaszewski asked for verification that the
timeframe [in the bill] was acceptable. He surmised that
DPS would not be hard pressed to meet the timeframe because
the bill spelled out something the department was already
kind of doing.
Commissioner Cockrell answered, "that's fairly accurate."
He explained there would be individuals laterally hired by
other police departments that may not have received the
training. He elaborated that the training would need to be
added to the DPS refresh academy normally held during the
winter. The department was looking at avenues to provide
the specific training.
Co-Chair Foster asked Commissioner Cockrell to provide his
invited testimony.
2:52:26 PM
Commissioner Cockrell shared that when he had taken over
the job three years back, the issue had been an emerging
crisis in Alaska, and DPS quickly realized it needed to do
something. The department had focused on hiring an MMIP
investigator and the one position was overwhelmed fairly
quickly within three months. The department had hired a
second investigator and had ultimately needed to increase
the number to four positions. He detailed that the
positions were long-term and non-permanent filled by
retired Alaska State Troopers (AST) focused specifically on
investigating murdered indigenous people in Alaska. The
investigator positions had been successful, as it was
something the department lacked the resources to do
otherwise. He stated that some of the cases were cold cases
for a reason; DPS was actively working on six cold cases in
four regions of the state.
Commissioner Cockrell relayed that DPS was currently doing
much of what was in the bill. The investigator positions
were filled and the department was putting out a quarterly
report on missing Alaska Native and American Indians that
followed all of the active missing persons in the state.
The department had partnered with police departments in
Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Soldotna and was hoping to
partner with all police departments to continue to upgrade
the list. The department was working to put all of the
state's missing 1,322 individuals into the federal National
Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). He
believed DPS had about four individuals left to enter into
the system; it was waiting on police reports from other
agencies and a couple were on hold while DPS investigated
leads. The department's preference was 60 days instead of
30 days related to tracking missing persons. He explained
that DPS received a 30-day notification, and it contacted
the local police department to ensure nothing fell through
the cracks. He stated that NamUs was more of a long-term
missing person clearing house. He noted that family members
were able to add information about a missing person before
DPS. He elaborated that the federal government contacted
DPS prior to putting an individual in the database to
confirm an individual was a missing person in Alaska.
Additional information could continue to be added along the
way such as photos and information from Facebook. The
department also had its own missing person clearing house.
Commissioner Cockrell relayed that there were many good
things about the bill. He explained that an Alaska Native
female was 10 times more likely to get murdered in Alaska
than the national average and four out of five Alaska women
were victims of domestic or sexual violence or death. He
stated that the bill would cement the importance the State
of Alaska put on its indigenous people. He believed there
were areas the state and DPS needed to work on including
prevention. He expounded that he did not want to get to the
point where the investigators were overwhelmed by cold
cases; the crimes needed to be stopped before they
happened. He highlighted that fundamentally how law
enforcement was conducted in rural Alaska would need to
change in order to make that happen.
2:57:38 PM
Commissioner Cockrell stated that since the department had
taken the issue on, its troopers, Village Public Safety
Officers (VPSO), and civilian staff had been overwhelmingly
supportive. He was proud of the direction the department
was going and the commitment it was showing. He hoped to
close some of the cold cases to bring closure for families
and to prevent crimes from happening. The budget provided
funding for community outreach to educate individuals in
rural Alaska on what to do if someone went missing. The
department's budget also included the four investigator
positions. He shared that at one point the department had
received federal funding, but it had been discontinued
after a year. Additionally, Senator Donny Olson had secured
$250,000 for the department to hire two more investigators
the previous year to bring the number up to four. There was
a lot of support for the direction the bill and department
were going. He stated that it was necessary to keep the
pedal to the metal to keep the issue from worsening.
2:59:16 PM
Representative Cronk shared that he had been on the MMIP
working group the past summer. He stated there was good
work taking place and he appreciated everyone's dedication.
He stated that the combined workload of cold cases and
missing people was very large. He believed that any help
the department needed to continue the work was warranted.
Representative Coulombe asked if VPSOs were included in the
cultural training.
Commissioner Cockrell answered that VPSOs received the same
training as troopers for the first part of the DPS academy.
He relayed that 54 villages were covered by VPSOs who acted
as first responders in many cases. He continued that as the
VPSO program continued to grow, the response was quicker.
He reported that a law enforcement presence (including
VPSOs) in a village made it less likely a homicide would
occur.
Representative Coulombe asked about the four investigators.
She stated that some of the struggles with researching the
cases was about getting the information; trying to get
family members or neighbors to talk and villages to give up
information. She remarked that the bill required a lot of
giving up of information. She assumed that was voluntary if
a family did not want to provide information. She asked if
there was an improvement based on the work of the four
investigators. She wondered if the investigators were still
hitting some blocks or not seeing results.
3:02:04 PM
Commissioner Cockrell stated that people were most
comfortable talking to law enforcement if they knew the
officer and the officer was located in their community.
There was a substantial decrease when a trooper or VPSO got
to a village. He elaborated that it took time once law
enforcement was in a village and eventually crimes
decreased. He confirmed that if individuals in a community
did not trust law enforcement it was more difficult to get
information out. He saw the issue more related to drugs
than homicide and violent crime. He was pleased with the
direction the investigators were going and he received an
update about once a month on the status. He stated that
part of the issue was that the status source for DNA for
Alaska Natives was small. He estimated there were about
120,000 Alaska Natives in Alaska, but very few had to
submit DNA. Much of the investigating work was based on old
evidence, most of which was DNA evidence. He was
comfortable with the direction the department was going and
with the troopers doing the investigations. He shared that
one trooper was Alaska Native and spent most of his time in
the Hooper Bay region, another was Alaska Native and grew
up in Nome. He stated that those things helped and the
resulting information was helpful.
Representative Coulombe replied that Commissioner
Cockrell's answer was helpful because she was trying to
determine whether people trusted rural or urban law
enforcement enough to provide the information. She asked
how law enforcement agencies interacted in a missing person
case. For example, she wondered if a case in Anchorage
belonged to the Anchorage Police Department (APD). She
asked if the case was ever transferred to special
investigators. She asked how local law enforcement, DPS,
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interacted.
Commissioner Cockrell answered that Alaska Natives were
victimized in urban Alaska at a higher rate than any other
ethnicity. He relayed that if there was a missing person in
the Anchorage area, APD took the case. The same thing
occurred for Nome and Kotzebue, unless DPS was asked to
take the case. The department was currently working one
cold case in the Kotzebue region. The department was
currently looking at cases within state jurisdiction that
had enough evidence to move forward with continued
investigation. Once that pool was taken care of, DPS would
look at other pools where other police departments had
requested help with cold cases. The department preferred to
take care of its jurisdiction first before going into other
jurisdictions. He referenced the Ashley Barr situation in
Kotzebue where DPS, the FBI, the Kotzebue Police
Department, and the U.S. Marshal Service had been involved.
3:06:53 PM
Representative Hannan noted that Sections 2 through 5 of
the legislation had immediate effective dates. She asked if
the department was prepared to roll the sections out and
make sure officers know how to collect and submit DNA
etcetera.
Commissioner Cockrell needed additional information on each
of the sections.
Representative Hannan explained that the sections pertained
to reporting to NamUs including fingerprints, photographs,
and DNA. She noted that the sections had immediate
effective dates, but she was concerned that if DPS was not
ready to roll the sections out, the work would not actually
start on July 1.
Commissioner Cockrell replied that he was not concerned
because the department was already essentially doing what
the bill sections outlined.
Representative Hannan asked if there had been discussion
about including the FBI in the [MMIP review] commission's
work in order to benefit from national work that may be
taking place in other jurisdictions.
Ms. Chythlook-Sifsof answered that the national NamUs
reporting system included a cross jurisdictional avenue for
communication shared between multiple jurisdictions. She
believed it was used by the FBI but was not certain. She
relayed that law enforcement and tribal entities had access
to communication through the database. She deferred to Ms.
Kloster for additional detail.
Ms. Kloster answered that development of the commission had
been done in coordination with DPS and the bill sponsors.
She stated that when the bill had first been introduced
several years back, around 18 people had been looked at as
potential commission members. They had worked to narrow the
size and work had been done to determine which positions
would be most beneficial to be at the table. The commission
looked internally at what was happening in Alaska and in
the specific cases, including considering potentially
confidential information, to determine solutions and
generate a report. She relayed there were many other spaces
where federal representatives were at the table. She
detailed that she and her partners attended many of those
meetings. She believed there were numerous jurisdictional
issues when it came to the cases. She stated that the FBI
tended to jump in upon request or in cases with children.
She noted that Alaska was a bit different because the state
led a lot of the public safety efforts. There were a lot of
open communications between DPS, the FBI, and others. The
makeup of the commission was looking at who had been
involved in the MMIP cases, she was not necessarily opposed
to adding the FBI if it was the will of the department and
legislature. She believed the important thing was having
the commission in place to look at all of the cases. She
deferred to Commissioner Cockrell as well.
3:13:44 PM
Commissioner Cockrell replied that the FBI was not on the
commission but they could be invited. He elaborated that
the AST colonel, deputy commissioner, APD chief, Anchorage
airport chief, marshal service, and all of the federal
agencies met every other week. The state had robust
interactions with all of the federal agencies and local
Anchorage agencies. He expected that the commanders in
Fairbanks, Mat-Su, and the Kenai Peninsula to be talking to
the chiefs of police to ensure they were not missing
something, whether it was drug related or missing persons
related.
3:14:42 PM
Representative Hannan clarified that she was not suggesting
adding in a federal agency and she did not believe they had
that authority. Since the FBI and U.S. marshals were
involved with interstate kidnapping and there was a
jurisdictional problem when an offender left one state and
entered another. She wanted to make sure the commission and
investigative report engaged with federal law enforcement
partners so the state was not continuing to work as an
island. She wanted to make sure the data was nationally
shared and that Alaska was taking advantage of any national
or federally trained law enforcement to address the
problem.
Commissioner Cockrell responded that he felt comfortable
that the state had enough information sharing between state
and federal agencies.
Co-Chair Foster OPENED public testimony.
TRACI FITKA, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), shared
that she was a cousin to murdered Kimberly Fitka O'Domin
who went missing on June 15 [2023]. She shared that there
was a recorded call between Ms. Fitka O'Domin and the VPSO
in Marshall, Alaska where the officer stated that he could
not detain a suspect for assault due to a heating fuel
spill in the police department. She stated that as a
result, the individual was left free to cause more
corruption and eventually murder Ms. Fitka O'Domin. She
shared that the family could not get any involvement from
the Alaska State Troopers and the search and rescue team
conducted daily searches for five days until the state
troopers arrived. She elaborated that the troopers would
not provide the case number to the family until they
mentioned MMIP. Ms. Fitka O'Domin's body was found 13 days
after she had gone missing, 130 miles down the river. She
shared that there was a witness statement that Ms. Fitka
O'Domin's neck appeared to be broken. She relayed that the
state medical examiner reported there was no water in her
lungs; however, on July 6, the examiner and troopers
determined she had drowned. She continued that the body had
been released to a funeral home about two months later and
then law enforcement had to retrieve it to complete a
medical exam. She stated that from the beginning the family
had been told law enforcement was doing a homicide
investigation, but they clearly had not been.
Ms. Fitka addressed victim blaming. She shared that the ABI
[Alaska Bureau of Investigation] captain reported slander
to ruin the victim's reputation. She stated that science
did not support the captain's claims. She shared that Ms.
Fitka O'Domin was a mother of seven, a tribal
administrator, school board member, and a member of the
local corporations. She elaborated that the people who
murdered her were free to live their lives. She believed
that training was needed. The AST relied heavily on
pictures and evidence from search and rescue and AST should
have acknowledged they had not been present to take. There
were witnesses who saw Kimberly held on the porch and drug
to the river. She stated that Alaska Cares and an agency in
Bethel did not do very well meeting with the children and
interviewed them in the liquor store. She noted that Ms.
Fitka O'Domin's glasses were produced by a family member of
the suspects. She continued to explain the situation. There
was a lot of information that could be shared. She had
called Senator Lyman Hoffman to get the department
involved, otherwise nothing would have happened. She
thanked the bill sponsor and his staff for taking interest
in the bill and the case. She believed trained law
enforcement could step it up and provide respect and
answers families deserved when a family member went missing
or were murdered.
3:24:21 PM
ANTONIA COMMACK, SELF, WASILLA (via teleconference), shared
that she is Inupiaq from the Native Village of Shungnak and
had been an MMIP advocate for many years. She had started
the work after two of her best friends Robyn Gray and
Kristen Huntington were murdered in Fairbanks. She
elaborated that the two women were victims of domestic
violence and had been violently murdered. Together the two
women left behind six children who now had no mother. She
shared that through her advocacy she had established
meaningful relationships with numerous victims throughout
Alaska. Her primary focus was MMIP cases that were ignored
by DPS and local police departments such as Kotzebue, Nome,
Barrow, and Juneau. She relayed that families all felt they
were not seen or heard by law enforcement, and they all
felt neglected by the people who swore to protect and serve
them. She stated that there was no trust between the
victims' families and law enforcement, and she hoped it
would change with the bill.
Ms. Commack discussed that HB 234 included a mandatory
cultural training under the police standards capsule, which
was extremely important. She recently talked with a retired
Anchorage Police Department officer who had taught at the
police academy in Sitka and the officer told her that no
cultural training existed and that many officers came from
the Lower 48 with no understanding of Alaska Native culture
and customs. She spoke to the importance of building
relationships and trust with those she was speaking to as a
victims' advocate. She stressed it needed to be understood
by law enforcement as well. She added that the four current
MMIP investigator positions were not enough. She had
contacted investigators numerous times and had been told
they were busy and had other cases they were working on.
She shared that she had been asking them about a case in
Kotzebue that Commissioner Cockrell talked about [earlier
in the meeting] that was ruled a homicide. She relayed that
Sue Sue Norton was beaten and strangled in her boyfriend's
home, but there was no investigation by DPS until after an
investigative article was written by Kyle Hopkins. The case
was passed on to DPS MMIP investigators in 2023. She
stressed that Sue Sue died on March 9, 2020. She asked why
her family had to wait so long for justice.
Ms. Commack stated that she had heard the DPS commissioner
say in a previous meeting that his investigators were very
busy and he could keep at least six and up to eight
investigators busy year-round. She believed DPS would
benefit from having more MMIP investigators on staff
because they were not able to keep up with the caseload.
She relayed that the number of cold cases in Alaska far
exceeded the six cases Commissioner Cockrell said the
department was working on. There were many families across
Alaska waiting for justice and they were waiting because no
one was available to work their case. She was not asking
for results overnight, she was asking for the
investigations to begin so families would have some
closure. She highlighted there were barriers to getting
information in rural areas. She had spoken to many families
who constantly told her they were afraid to speak to law
enforcement and they came to her with tips she tried to
pass on to the investigators. She believed the problem
could be fixed if groups worked together to provide better
cultural training and understanding with DPS. She thanked
the committee and stressed the importance of the bill,
which would contribute to finding justice for MMIP.
3:29:04 PM
Co-Chair Foster recognized Representative Maxine Dibert in
the committee room.
TERRA BURNS, ADVOCATE, COMMUNITY UNITED FOR SAFETY AND
PROTECTION, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), shared that the
entity worked towards safety and protection for people in
Alaska's sex industry. The organization strongly supported
the bill and appreciated the leadership that had gone into
it. She urged the commission to investigate the murders of
several individuals whose deaths had not yet been
investigated. She urged support for the legislation.
Representative Hannan asked Ms. Burns to repeat the names.
Ms. Burns replied Jessica Lake, Sarah Monroe, and Arnoldine
Hill. She relayed that Ms. Monroe's death was not being
investigated as a homicide even though the person who
killed her had talked about it. She shared that Ms. Hill's
body was found along the highway outside of Anchorage a
couple of years back.
Co-Chair Foster thanked the testifiers. He CLOSED public
testimony.
3:31:47 PM
AT EASE
3:32:26 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Foster relayed that the Senate companion bill, SB
151 sponsored by Senator Olson was in the committee as of
the previous evening. The fiscal note was different and
there may have been some changes. He stated the bill would
be scheduled as soon as possible. He asked the bill sponsor
to provide any closing comments.
Representative McCormick thanked the testifiers who had
called in and shared their stories. He stated there was a
pervasive feeling amongst people across the state who were
impacted by MMIP issues that they were left in the dark and
that when they brought the issues to law enforcement the
outcome did not always result in justice. He thanked the
committee for the privilege of sharing the bill. He stated
that the bill had been a long time coming and it had been
an issue he had been aware of for a long time. There were a
lot of family members who had been missing for a very long
time. He urged the committee for swift action. He believed
it was just the beginning and one facet of a multifaceted
issue with getting justice for victims across the state. He
thanked the committee.
Co-Chair Foster relayed that the fastest way to get the
bill passed was to use the Senate Bill as the vehicle. He
stated the current meeting was a good introduction.
3:35:58 PM
Representative Hannan requested an at ease.
3:36:03 PM
AT EASE
3:37:15 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Foster discussed a way to expedite the bill. He
could set a quick amendment deadline once the Senate Bill
was heard by the committee.
Representative McCormick supported the idea.
HB 234 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Foster discussed his plan for the remainder of the
meeting. There were two additional bills left on the
agenda.