On deadline Wednesday night, I went to the home of wildlife trooper Ken VanSpronsen to give him a second opportunity to explain his departure from the Alaska State Troopers.

Reporter Karen Garcia reported this week that VanSpronsen has been hired as an officer by the Haines Borough Police Department. But police chief Robert Griffiths, state trooper officials and VanSpronsen all refused to explain to Garcia the circumstances under which VanSpronsen left the troopers. I wanted to give VanSpronsen another chance to clear this up. VanSpronsen’s wife told me he would not comment.

The newspaper is not digging for dirt here. We’re looking for basic information any citizen would want to know. Because of the power that police agencies wield and the high trust we invest in them, we rightfully expect they should be able to explain the hiring of their officers.

Considering the recent history of rogue police officers in Haines and abusive or incompetent police chiefs,“no comment” is not an acceptable response to this question.

- Tom Morphet