Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

With little discussion, the Haines Borough Assembly unanimously voted Tuesday to censure member Tom Morphet for violating code and the borough’s contract with its union by releasing complaints about the Haines Police Department he had compiled from members of the public.

Morphet submitted the complaints to interim manager Brad Ryan in April, then released them to reporters a week later after a recall effort was launched against him and two other assembly members.

The union maintained Morphet’s actions amounted to release of borough personnel records that are confidential.

The union requested Morphet apologize for the incident and be censured, an official reprimand. Morphet apologized at an assembly meeting in May for disclosing the identities of two officers named in two of the complaints, and he apologized in writing to the officers, but he disagreed that the complaints amounted to personnel records.

He said his intent wasn’t to single out officers but to show a pattern of police behavior that was troubling.

The assembly’s personnel committee also recommended the censure, although a union representative was satisfied with the apologies, according to a July 1 memo to the assembly and Mayor from manager Debra Schnabel.

The assembly voted 5-0 in favor of the censure. Morphet was prohibited from participating in the censure vote.