Anchorage Assembly Public Health and Safety Committee: Use of Force Report and Willow Commons Evaluation - September 9, 2026

The Anchorage Assembly Public Health and Safety Committee met on September 9, 2026, beginning at 11:01 a.m. The agenda included two major presentations: a Mayor's Office introduction of a Bloomberg Philanthropies evaluation of Willow Commons, and a detailed presentation by 21st Century Policing Solutions (21 CP) on its use-of-force review of the Anchorage Police Department (APD). The committee also heard public testimony, extended the meeting by 15 minutes, and deferred a planned APD implementation update to a future meeting. No formal votes were taken.

Mayor's Office Report and Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange

• Thea Agnew Bemben, special assistant to the mayor, introduced Luke Hydrich and Kirsty Paul of the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange, a Bloomberg Philanthropies program, and the Behavioral Insights Team.
• Hydrich and Paul said their evaluation team has conducted more than 1,000 evaluations and partnered with more than 130 cities. They are evaluating Willow Commons to document what Anchorage did, inform local decisions, and provide a guide for other cities on rapid housing.
• They conducted interviews in the spring with planning, construction, and project members; while in Anchorage they planned to tour Willow Commons and the Anchorage Recovery Center and conduct follow-up interviews. They also planned to visit Atlanta's Melody project and Shreveport later in the year.
• In response to a member question, they confirmed the project is both documenting and evaluating effectiveness and return on investment, with a city report expected later.

Discussion Item: 21 CP Use of Force Review and Recommendations

• Charles Ramsey, founding partner of 21 CP, former Chicago police officer, former police chief in Washington, D.C., former Philadelphia police commissioner, and co-chair of President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, presented with Michael Moore, senior advisor and former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. They reviewed APD use-of-force data from January 2021 through June 2025, including 11 officer-involved shootings.
• Reported use of force declined by approximately 17% between 2022 and 2024 and was about 4.7% lower in 2024 than in 2021.
• Just over 89% of reported uses of force were level one, the lowest category; fewer than 1% were level three, the most serious category. Level three force was most often associated with DUI, arrest, eluding, assault, or burglary calls.
• Use of force was concentrated on late Friday and Saturday nights. Officers were injured in just under 8% of reported incidents; subjects were injured in approximately 14.5%.
• Twenty officers accounted for 19% of reported use-of-force incidents, and six officers accounted for more than 100 incidents each. 21 CP said such concentrations require deeper review of assignment, tactics, and training.
• Chief Case added context: two of the top six officers were in the special investigative support unit/SWAT and conducted high-risk vehicle stops; one officer was no longer with APD; one officer's use of force was 94% level one; and in the first quarter of 2026 none of the original top six remained in the top six. He said 64% of officers move in and out of the top 20 over the study period.
• The review found that 56% of reportable force incidents involved an individual experiencing an apparent or known behavioral health crisis.
• Tactical concerns included officers bypassing distance, cover, and concealment; inconsistent on-scene command communications; and increased use of vehicle-blocking tactics. 21 CP said the rise in blocking maneuvers appears influenced by APD's restrictive pursuit policy and can place officers in front of reportedly armed individuals, although no officers had been attacked in the reviewed cases.
• 21 CP found that APD's administrative use-of-force investigations improved during Chief Case's tenure but recommended transcribed interviews, stronger data collection, and more complete records on subjects and officers.
• The report contains 57 recommendations across categories including policy and officer decision-making, training and cultural competency, reporting and investigations, vehicle tactics and supervision, early intervention systems, and community and post-incident support.
• Regarding officer-involved shootings, 21 CP noted accountability findings: in 2024, one of eight shootings was found out of policy; in 2025, one of five; and in 2026 so far, one of seven was found out of policy and six were undetermined.
• Ramsey said APD is a solid, good department, not an out-of-control or toxic one, but one that must continue improving. Moore cited LAPD and Philadelphia examples where training changes produced major drops in officer-involved shootings.
• In response to questions, 21 CP said cross-city force comparisons were requested by the city but are limited because Anchorage reports more low-level events than most agencies, such as drawing a weapon or vehicle-boxing tactics. They recommended creating a 'level zero' category to isolate these unique events.
• On legislative oversight, Ramsey and Moore advised the committee to support needed resources, demand regular reports, verify implementation through training observations, and institutionalize changes beyond any single chief's tenure.
• Moore said Anchorage should consider a deployment study to assess pairing officers and using technology such as drone first response and online reporting, noting LAPD saved more than 25,000 reports a year through online traffic-collision reporting.

Public Comments and Testimony

• Jamie Lopez East Anchorage, formerly homeless and formerly with a coalition, said there is no community-driven public safety commission with investigative and subpoena power. She described police as a threat to poor, marginalized, and vulnerable residents, and raised concerns about APD's use of Aura, an external private surveillance network with facial recognition, including 375 licenses obtained by APD at no cost over 60 months. She asked the committee to investigate the June officer-involved shooting at Walmart.
• Amanda Bremner, deputy director of Native Movement, thanked 21 CP and the municipality for the independent review. She stated the report shows Alaska Native people were involved in 45% of all APD use-of-force incidents over the past four and a half years while Alaska Native people make up 7.3% of Anchorage's population, and said this disparity was absent from the mayor's office press release. She also noted that 20 officers, or 5% of the department, were involved in 19% of force incidents, and six officers were each involved in 100 or more incidents. She said Seattle, Portland, and Spokane use early intervention windows of six months to a year, while Anchorage's primary window is 30 days, and asked the committee to extend APD's early intervention thresholds and review how the program is used.
• Mercedes Arseniga from West Anchorage said the report confirmed disproportionate use of force, called for culture change and independent oversight such as an inspector general with subpoena power, and described the chief as up against a resistant 'good old boy' system. She supported annual reporting and continued municipal due diligence.
• Def Williams, a community volunteer with the Anchorage Suicide Prevention Coalition and the Anchorage Community Police Relations Task Force, reported that Chief Case went door-to-door in the Fairview area in July and residents responded positively; he urged more such engagement.
• Glenn Cajwamura with First United Methodist Church said the church is launching a child care partnership for up to 80 children and asked how police and community can protect the children and citizens near the church. He noted the mayor attended the August 7 launch.

Key Outcomes

• The committee received the 21 CP use-of-force report and presentation; no formal action, motion, or vote was taken.
• The committee stated it will schedule time for Chief Case to present the department's implementation of changes, an item that was on the agenda but was not reached.
• The meeting was extended by 15 minutes to allow public comment. The planned ABAPD update was deferred to a future meeting.
• Public testimony raised specific requests for further oversight, transparency, and review of APD's early intervention system and surveillance tools.