‘He is the rock that this department rests on:’ Ceremony honors police chief’s retirement

Retiring Juneau Chief of Police Ed Mercer and City Manager Rorie Watt made a bet about which of the pair would cry first during the chief’s retirement ceremony Friday afternoon at the Juneau Police Department station.

It was hard to tell who broke first during the hour-long ceremony — but regardless — the two were not the only ones without dry eyes in a room that was packed with dozens of law enforcement personnel, family members, and city officials who gathered to commemorate Mercer’s departure from his role after six years of leading and navigating JPD during years of tumultuous social and public health trials.

Mercer has been in law enforcement in Southeast Alaska for more than 30 years and chief in Juneau since 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.

He will officially take off his badge on Monday, July 31. However, his “retirement” will be short as he is set to transition into another role serving as executive director of the Alaska High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program. He will remain in Juneau. Deputy Chief David Campbell, a lifelong Alaskan who has been at JPD since 1995, will serve as interim chief of police.

Mercer, who is Tlingit and a lifelong Southeast Alaskan born in Sitka, is the first Alaska Native person to lead JPD, according to the city. Among his honors received is the Alaska Federation of Natives’ 2021 Public Service President’s Award for his service to the community.

Watt kicked off the multiple rounds of speeches about Mercer and his contribution to both the safety of Juneau and the health of the police department as a whole. Watt said Mercer was more than just a person who was good at his job.

“As a man, he’s one of the most solid people I’ve ever met in my whole life — he is the rock that this department rests on,” Watt said. “I have never known Chief Mercer to make a decision or recommendation without carefully thinking through the consequences and the issues weighing the difficulties of either side of the decision.”

Deputy City Manager Robert Barr spoke about Mercer’s long history of law enforcement in Southeast Alaska and the steps he took to get to the position leading as chief. Barr said during the two years the pair worked together, he grew to treasure their relationship and the time spent together.

“Our Wednesday morning meetings are regularly the best meeting of my week, and I am so much going to miss you and your calm counsel, your clear dedication to your staff — your care for them is abundantly clear,” he said.

Mayor Beth Weldon spoke about her time spent with Mercer while she served as the division chief with Capital City Fire/Rescue.

“He was always a calming force deescalate…we were very happy when he became chief,” she said. “On the Assembly side of the house, Chief Mercer has done a great job keeping me informed what’s going on and certainly led us through a couple of incidences and trying times, but very professional, very calm, very collected, and we will certainly miss that.”

At the end of the ceremony, Mercer gave a speech focused on expressing his gratitude to the people who led him into the role of chief, something he didn’t think was in the cards for him.

He thanks his wife, and their three sons, who attended the ceremony in the front row.

“I couldn’t do this job by myself. If it wasn’t for these individuals standing here with me, I couldn’t do it,” he said. “I think we’ve done a really good job at this department through all the years I’ve been here as far as putting the right people and supervision, and the roles that they play every single day to go out and serve the public as public servants,” he said. “So I want to thank them and just a round of applause for them as well.”

Watt said though it is bittersweet to see him leave, “once a chief, always a chief.”

Mercer’s permanent replacement will be selected through an open recruitment process involving participation from the public, the CBJ Assembly and JPD in the coming months.

• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.