Published on October 15th, 2009

Bethel's police chief is doing more with less

By LOGAN TUTTLE

Larry Elarton has won over the City of Bethel since becoming its police chief a year and a half ago.

"When he was appointed as the chief, members of the City Council were highly dissatisfied with certain aspects of the police department," Lee Foley, Bethel city manager, said of the situation Elarton met. "In his first three months, Larry was able to completely reverse these negative attitudes and win over the entire council."

Bethel has a new respect for its police department since Elarton stepped in March 17, 2008.

"He has brought a level of credibility and professionalism to the department that was sorely lacking, and has imbued his officers with a high degree of community spirit," Foley said.

Elarton says interacting with Bethel residents is one of the most enjoyable aspects of his job.

"I have enjoyed watching the relationships with the community improve as the officers learn and become part of the community," Elarton said.

He also is pleased when he sees young officers learn to grow with the community.

"It is encouraging to watch some of the young officers learn that when they believe in their community and foster those relationships," Elarton explained. "Each call will give you personal satisfaction of the job you did, which then gets them hooked on their new career."

With any job, there are also challenges.

"Recruitment and retention is an issue in Bush Alaska due to the high cost of living and the remoteness of the area. We were fortunate to recruit several experienced officers and then trained our remaining force," he said. "However, we have replaced over 90 percent of our workforce, and staff reductions due to budgets caused the loss of nine positions, so all the interpersonal relationships in the workplace are having to be rebuilt so we can learn to function as a team."

Serving as police chief is hard work in any jurisdiction. Bethel is no different.

"You're on call - you get called out on weekends," Elarton said.

Some nights he gets called out in the very early morning hours and stays until 4 or 5 a.m., only to return to work again a few hours later.

"It's definitely not the 9-to-5 gig," Elarton said.

Elarton's law enforcement career started about 30 years ago in Gunnison, Colo. Since then, he has worked beach patrol in San Diego, served as police chief, chief investigator and under-sheriff in Colorado.

"My wife had an extended family member [who] was living in Bethel and kept letting us know of the problems Bethel PD was having," Elarton said.

The main problem when he first came was the number of officers for Bethel, which had to contract with retired state troopers to fill out the force. The department currently has a staff of 12 officers plus a community safety officer and three community patrol members.

"My wife, an avid fisherwoman, always wanted to go to Alaska so after much discussion, I applied and later accepted the chief's position in Bethel."

When he has free time, Elarton said he likes to hunt, fish and pan for gold.

"The fishing in Bethel is awesome!" Elarton exclaimed.

This fall, Elarton is preparing to deal with Bethel's decision about alcohol. The unofficial vote tally from Oct. 6 had the city allowing the sale of alcohol for the first time since the 1970s. The police chief is optimistic that regardless of the official outcome, his department will be able to meet the needs of the community.

"Both sides have valid points and concerns and the only common ground seems to be that Bethel still is addressing alcohol problems regardless." Elarton said. "Bethel PD is fully staffed at present and is capable to meet the needs of the community however they vote."

Elarton's commitment has engendered the community's loyalty.

"I was a police officer in California, just a street cop," Foley said. "But I would have followed a leader like our chief without question. He is that good."

Logan Tuttle is a UAA journalism student.

Logan Tuttle can be reached at logantut@gmail.com, or by phone at

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Bethel's police chief is doing more with less