A substitute Village Police Officer from the dry village of Selawik is in jail in Nome, awaiting trial. Brent Norton is charged with supplying alcohol to a minor and raping with her while she was unconscious.
One month earlier, Norton received an award at AFN for his dedication to public safety. His case brings up important questions about how VPOs are vetted in villages throughout the state.
On October 17, Norton was presented with the Glen Godfrey Law Enforcement Award at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. Each year, the award is given to an Alaska Native Law Enforcement Officer who has shown outstanding dedication to the safety of the public in Alaska.
Norton was recognized for his involvement in a shooting in Selawik this summer. At that time, he had less than six months of experience but was first on the scene. While the victim died from gunshot wounds, Norton risked being shot to retrieve the body.
The Alaska Federation of Natives had no comment on Norton’s award.
One month later, on November 17, 29-year-old Norton allegedly supplied a 16-year-old girl with alcohol and later raped her while she was unconscious.
According to an article published by The Arctic Sounder, the Selawik Clinic received a call from Norton just before 1 a.m. on November 18. Norton described the girl as cold and not breathing. Emergency responders spent twenty minutes trying to resuscitate her before she was declared dead.
Norton’s record was far from clean prior to this year.
In 2006, Norton was arrested and pleaded guilty for transporting alcohol to a dry village. He was arrested for the same charge again in 2012. Then, in June of this year, he was charged with giving alcohol to a 13-year-old girl.
So how did a man with a record for importing and supplying alcohol to minors get hired as a substitute VPO in the dry village of Selawik?
Chris Hatch, program coordinator for Village Public Safety Officers in the Northwest Arctic Borough, explains that each village is solely responsible for hiring its own VPOs.
To be clear, a VPSO, which is what Hatch oversees, is different in many ways from a VPO. A VPSO goes through extensive training and vetting compared to what a VPO is put through. But, there are some safeguards in place.
According to the Alaska Statues, a person with misdemeanor convictions in the last ten years will be “judged on his or her moral character, at the council’s discretion.” A person convicted of a felony in the last ten years is ineligible.
The incident in February of this year, in which he supplied alcohol to a minor, was a Class C Felony. But Norton was a substitute VPO, so under even less scrutiny.
“So what happens in a lot of communities,” Hatch explains, “is they hire a VPO, and then they’ll hire someone to fill in. So, you have a guy who works 20-30 hours a week, but when he leaves for some reason, they have someone to fill in for him. In this case, they’re calling him a substitute VPO.”
While VPOs must pass a background check, the hiring of substitutes is at the discretion of the village. The city of Selawik had no comment for this story.
And according to his introduction at this year’s AFN, Norton’s reputation in Selawik outshone his record. The award presenter explained that “residents describe him as dedicated to helping, and he is known for his courteousness and kindness. He is an example of responsibility, courage, and respect.”
Norton’s involvement in the death of a Selawik teen will add another felony to his record if he’s convicted. He’s being held at the Anvil Mountain Correctional Center in Nome, with bail set at $50,000.
