Senate Judiciary Committee forwards two Alaska Police Standards Council nominees after mixed public testimony

The Alaska State Senate Judiciary Committee on March 19, 2025 forwarded two of the governor's appointees to a joint session for consideration as members of the Alaska Police Standards Council: Daniel (Dan) Carruthers and David Ross.

The committee hearing included in-person testimony from both appointees and public comments opposing Carruthers. Chair Senator Klayman opened the confirmation portion of the meeting, saying, “Our first order of business today is confirmation hearings. The president referred the following governor's appointments to the judiciary committee for the Alaska Police Standards Council.”

Daniel Carruthers, who told the committee he has “28 years with the Department of Corrections,” asked to be reappointed and described his experience with corrections training, supervision and administration. Carruthers said he believes his background would be useful to the council because “the majority of people that the council trains, monitors, supervises are now the Department of Corrections — they're correctional officers, probation officers, superintendents,” and he said he could “be of value” on training objectives.

David Ross, whom he identified as the police chief for the Kenai Police Department, said he was appointed to one of the four police‑chief seats on the council and that he has served on the council for the last three years. Ross told the committee he understands the council must act independently and that he has performed that role during his term.

During public testimony, two callers opposed Carruthers' reappointment. Amber Nickerson, identifying herself as a constituent of Senate District 8, said she was incarcerated at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in 1996–97 and alleged that staff under Carruthers’ authority retaliated against women who reported abuse. Nickerson told the committee she and another inmate were transferred after seeking legal counsel and said the transfers “facilitated retaliation” and “reinforced a culture of fear.” Emily Clark, identified as an Anchorage constituent, also urged the committee to oppose Carruthers, saying he “failed to ensure the safety and well‑being of people at that facility,” language she said reflected the superintendent’s primary duties.

Committee members did not make a final confirmation decision in the session. Senator Kiel moved that “the Judiciary Committee, having reviewed the qualifications of the governor's appointees, forwards the following names to a joint session for consideration: Daniel Carruthers and David Ross, [Alaska Police Standards Council].” The motion included the committee clerk’s note that the motion “does not reflect an intent by any of the members to vote for or against these individuals during any further sessions for the purposes of confirmation.” The committee then went at ease to sign the committee report; the names were forwarded to the joint session.

No roll-call confirmation vote occurred in the committee hearing. The committee record does not reflect a second to the motion or a recorded tally. The joint session is the next step in the confirmation process; committee members explicitly declined to state how they intend to vote in that later session.

The committee chair closed public testimony and moved on to later agenda items. The third governor's appointee to the Alaska Police Standards Council, reported as unavailable for this hearing, was scheduled to appear at the committee's next meeting on March 21, 2025.

Ending: The committee's action in this hearing was a procedural referral of names to the joint session; formal confirmation, or rejection, was reserved for that later proceeding.