Top cop selection hails from Unalaska

ALASKA NEWSPAPERS STAFF

September 25, 2008 at 10:17AM AKST

Gov. Sarah Palin appointed Joseph Masters, a graduate of Unalaska High School, as commissioner of the Department of Public Safety on Sept. 12.

“Joe Masters brings more than two decades of Alaska law enforcement experience to the Department of Public Safety,” Gov. Palin said in a press release. “Both the department and all Alaskans will be well-served by his professionalism and knowledge of all facets of the organization.”

According to Unalaska School District records, Masters, 44, and his twin brother,  attended Unalaska High for 11th and 12th grade and graduated from Unalaska High School in 1982. He also began his law enforcement career in Unalaska.

Matt Betzen, first sergeant with the Unalaska Department of Public Safety, said that Masters was gone before Betzen began working at the department 16 years ago, but that he knew him in passing.

Betzen said Masters is “easy to get along with and easy to work with from other agency’s perspective.”

Masters is a 1986 graduate of the Alaska State Trooper Academy. He has more than 20 years of service with the Department of Public Safety in various roles, including supervising trooper recruitment and training and acting as deputy director of the Alaska State Troopers from June 2003 through May 2005.

Prior to his service with the troopers, Masters was a commander in Fish and Wildlife Protection. He currently lives in Anchorage.

“The members of the department are hardworking and dedicated to the protection of the citizens of Alaska and I am equally honored to provide direction and leadership to these everyday heroes,” said Masters of his appointment.

As to whether Betzen was surprised that a former Unalaska resident was picked to be commissioner, he said, “The state has been a surprise, over and over again.”

Masters is the state’s third public safety commissioner in the past two months.

Walt Monegan was fired by Palin in July, a dismissal that sparked the troopergate investigation now dogging the governor’s campaign to become the U.S. vice president. Chuck Kopp was tapped to replace Monegan but resigned after 14 days on the job when accusations of sexual harassment from a previous position emerged.

Masters will take over a department from acting commissioner John Glass.