The City and Borough of Juneau announced Friday afternoon its selection of three finalists in the running to become the Juneau Police Department’s next police chief following the retirement of Ed Mercer in late July.
According to the announcement, two out of the three candidates are from out of state — Derek Bos of Colorado and Joshua Kingsbury of New Mexico. The third candidate, Krag Campbell, is already with JPD, currently serving as alLieutenant and spokesperson, and has been an officer in Juneau for more than two decades.
The three finalists will each host a public town hall meeting in late September to meet with residents and answer questions.
The chosen finalist has big shoes to fill as they will replace Mercer, who had been in law enforcement in Southeast Alaska for more than 30 years and chief in Juneau beginning in 2017, first joining the department in 2000. Before then, he started off his police career as a reserve officer in Sitka in 1992, eventually accepting a full-time position with the department there.
Deputy Chief David Campbell currently serves as interim chief. He will also be retiring at the end of the month, according to City Manager Rorie Watt.
Watt said the city will not comment much about the candidates at this time, but noted that the selection process will likely be completed soon after the town hall events.
According to information provided by the city, Bos currently serves as chief of police in the Eagle Police Department in Eagle, Colorado. He’s held the position since December of 2022. Prior to then, Bos held the position of chief of police for the Brush Police Department in Brush, Colorado, for four years. He also held multiple positions with the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office in Chaffee, Colorado.
During his time in Brush, Bos was involved in a controversial and criticized arrest and prosecution of two school district administrators, charged with multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child, according to reporting from the Colorado Sun.
Kingsbury currently serves as a multi-site loss prevention site lead for Amazon in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as a captain with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with oversight of field services, criminal investigations, and judicial operations/administration. He served as an officer there from 1996 to 2021 before retiring.
Campbell, who is originally from Ketchikan, currently serves as a Lieutenant and spokesperson for JPD and has been with the department since 2002. Campbell was not immediately available for an interview with the Empire.
Know & Go
What: Candidate Town Hall meetings
Where: City Hall Assembly Chambers
When: Krag Campbell, Tuesday, September 26, 5:30 p.m. Joshua Kingsbury, Wednesday, September 27, 5:30 p.m. Derek Bos, Thursday, September 28, 5:30 p.m.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651) 528-1807.
