New Sitka Police Department officers Hal Henning, left, and Mark Chandler, right, stand outside the police station at the start of their shifts. The men have a three-year contract with the SPD to work on an alternating two weeks on, two weeks off schedule. (Sentinel Photos by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Two new officers joined the Sitka Police Department this summer at the same time - but they rarely see each other, never work together and spend their time off at homes in the Lower 48.
“It’s part of the overall goal for retention,” said SPD Chief Robert Baty, discussing the two weeks on, two weeks off schedule of Hal Henning and Mark Chandler, two former Sand Point police officers with decades of experience behind them.
“Instead of this being a training ground where people come in for a year, get their certification and move on, I reached out to more experienced officers who may have a background in community policing,” Baty said. “With two weeks on, two weeks off, we’re able to attract people who like the flexibility of working here while also living somewhere else.”
Both men have signed three-year contracts with the department, and will work opposite shifts.
Henning, 54, the former police chief of Sand Point, will work in Sitka two weeks straight in 12-hour shifts, and return to his home in Pateros, Washington, where his wife works as a registered nurse. Henning will trade the two weeks on, two weeks off schedule with former Sand Point officer Mark Chandler.
Chandler, 41, works the same schedule in opposite weeks, then returns home to Dallas, Texas, to spend his two weeks off with his wife, and their 11-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter.
Before signing his contract in Sitka, Henning was Sand Point’s police chief. With the Sitka position, he is returning to a job he also enjoyed in his earlier years, as a patrol officer.
“I’m a team player, and I think Chief Baty was looking for people with experience,” Henning said. “I really believe in Police Chief Baty’s mission for the department - I believe he envisions a community-oriented police department, with transparency and a commitment to community service. ... I’m looking forward to getting back to my roots of doing old-school patrol.”
Henning was born and raised in Minnesota, and started his law enforcement career as a military police officer in the U.S. Army. After he finished serving, he entered civilian law enforcement in St. Paul Island in 1989.
He has also worked as an officer for the Gilbert, Minnesota, police department (2006-2014) and as a deputy sheriff in Teton and Sweet Grass counties, Montana (2001-2006). He moved back to Alaska in 2014, when his wife took a job as a registered nurse in Kotzebue, where Henning was a major crimes investigator for two years. Henning’s Alaskan experience also includes one year as chief of Seldovia Police Department, when he was hired as police chief of Sand Point in 2017, to rebuild the department after a period of high turnover, he said.
During his time as chief in the Aleutians, Henning said, he talked to Baty about the difficulty in keeping newly trained officers. In Sand Point, where turnover was also a problem, Henning tried out a model of bringing in officers for two weeks at a time from outside, and hadn’t had any turnover for three years.
“I talked about it, and Chief Baty was open to giving it a trial run,” Henning said.
Henning also talked to Chandler, a fellow military officer he recruited for Sand Point, about working in Sitka. The two will alternate shifts, two weeks on, two weeks off. During Chandler’s time off, he will return to his home in Texas.
“Mark and I have been friends for 20 years,” Henning said. The two were fellow K-9 officers for separate organizations in Montana.
Chandler was born in Japan. As the son of a U.S. Air Force member, he grew up “all over,” including in Nevada, Panama, Germany, the Netherlands and Montana. Chandler has served as a military police officer in the U.S. Air Force, in Great Falls, Montana (1997-2010), and Colorado Springs (2010-2018), where his last assignment was in K9 patrol and investigations at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
After he retired from the military in 2018, Chandler and his family moved to Texas to be closer to family, then took the two-week on, two-week off job in Sand Point. After finishing his contract there, he signed on in Sitka, this summer.
“It’s been going good, I really enjoy it, I really like the area,” he said. “The department so far has been great. Chief Baty has done a good job selecting the right people, and everyone seems to get along with everybody.”
Chandler said Sand Point police had a “community driven” philosophy, where officers did have time to be part of the community; and he hopes to do the same here. He has so far gotten positive feedback from community members about changes that have taken place since Baty’s arrival a few years ago, he said.
“They see a difference in the way they’re treated,” Chandler said. “If it were just a job, I wouldn’t want to be part of that. I like the direction the department seems to be moving ... It’s been pretty positive.”
Baty said trying the two weeks on, two off, model was worth a try, given the problems of high turnover in the Sitka department. He required both officers to sign three-year contracts.
But Baty said it’s a trade-off. Among the challenges are shifts that are longer than normal, and two straight weeks of work, without a day off.
“The guys I talked to seem to balance it pretty well,” Baty said. “To be competitive we have to look at alternative methods of recruitment and retention. By having this flexibility, we are able to recruit people other than beginning officers. ... In this case, we have people that have great Alaska experience, and prior law enforcement experience elsewhere. They can hit the ground running.”
“It gives the police department another avenue to hire qualified officers,” Chandler said.
On a question of whether not living in Sitka is another “downside,” Henning said the two are renting a home here, spending money here and trying to make a difference.
“I’m really happy to be there, enjoying my time, meeting people and serving the community,” Henning said.
Henning finished his two weeks and returned to Washington state October 12, a day after Chandler arrived for his shift.
