Image courtesy of Andy Hedden.

After months of months of uncertainty, the Haines Chief of Police has decided to stay in town.

“I’ve decided to continue here with the Haines Borough Police Department,” said Police Chief Heath Scott.

He turned down an offer to be Police Chief in Wrangell on Monday. He says Wrangell made a good offer and it was a tough decision to make. On Tuesday he signed a contract with the Haines Borough.

“We were really surprised by the outpouring of support [from the community],” he said.

“And I and my family appreciate it very much. We didn’t want to let those people down.”

Scott has served the Haines community since 2016. His tenure has marked a new era of stability in what was once a chaotic department.

Community members turned out in number to support Chief Scott at last week’s assembly meeting. Haines resident Stuart DeWitt was among them. He said the borough’s treatment of Scott upset him and he urged the borough to make the Chief a good offer.

“Give Chief Scott a fair, honest contract. And give the man some respect because he and his wife… they deserve it,” he said.

The assembly pushed back against Scott’s request for more money to fund the police force earlier this year. And Scott has pressed for resolution on the question of whether or not the police should respond to calls outside the townsite for years, which remains unresolved.

But he says his new contract is satisfactory.

“I think we achieved community buy-in, community support, subtext within the offer. I believe a good portion of people are satisfied,” Scott said.

Chief Scott is the highest paid employee of the Haines Borough.

Scott says another reason he chose to stay in Haines was his family: his children are just starting school and it isn’t easy to sell a house in wintertime.