Bethel Police Department

On Feb. 19, Judge Nelson Traverso sentenced Jonathan Murphy to complete 150 hours of community service and 100 days of confinement — which he may be allowed to complete through electronic monitoring — for a 2023 incident in which he punched a man repeatedly in the head and attempted to cover up the incident.

On Feb. 12, a Bethel jury convicted Jonathan Murphy of misdemeanor assault, providing false information, and tampering with public records for a 2023 incident in which 44-year-old Bernard Mael was severely beaten following a traffic stop and pursuit.

Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica reporter Kyle Hopkins recently wrote about Whitman’s murder and Paul’s release. He said the incident speaks to wider issues within Alaska’s justice system.

In separate incidents in 2023 captured on police body cameras, Bernard Mael and Nicholas Kerr claimed that Bethel police caused them serious harm. A criminal trial is pending for a former officer involved in both incidents.

Justine Paul was indicted on flawed evidence. A defense witness wrote that police should have treated no fewer than 12 people as suspects of “higher interest.” A decade after the killing, no one has been convicted in Whitman’s death.

Justine Paul was accused of killing his girlfriend, Eunice Whitman. In Alaska’s slow-motion criminal justice system, he was kept behind bars even as the evidence against him fell apart.

Kirkham joined the city in March as deputy director of public safety. He'll now oversee both the police and fire departments. The move comes a little more than two months after the former director left the position under circumstances that remain unclear.

A minor has been charged as an adult for allegedly shooting their family member, 57-year old Gene Chaney Jr., who was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of Nov. 1.

The parents of the 20-year-old whose body was found in Bethel in November 2023 under suspicious circumstances are suing for alleged negligence, discrimination, and emotional distress.

Naneng’s former boyfriend, 24-year-old Edward Atcherian, has been charged with second-degree murder for Naneng’s death and is currently being held at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel.