Editor’s note: This article discusses suicide. If you or people you know are at risk of self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for 24-hour support.
The North Slope Borough mayor issued an apology late Wednesday after a widely circulated video showed police dragging a body on a sled through a main street in Utqiagvik.
Zoey Vasquez says the video shows the body of her 17-year-old brother, Christian, who took his own life on the tundra near town Wednesday morning.
Vasquez posted the video on social media Wednesday night, saying she wanted to raise awareness “that this is how we’re treated in this small village” and questioning the actions of the officers involved.
“Nobody cares about us because we are Native & this is an ongoing issue (suicide) what my family has gone through today,” Vasquez said in her post. “I wouldn’t wish this upon anyone.”
Within a few hours, North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak posted a statement for what he called the “Ahgeak Street incident,” referencing the road where it occurred.
“First, we offer our prayers to the families who have lost their loved one. No one, no matter the circumstances deserves the type of treatment that unfolded soon after,” Patkotak’s statement reads. “As Mayor, I take full responsibility and am working to swiftly review and address the situation and will take appropriate action. We are all disheartened by the poor judgment exercised in how to respond to such a devastating situation.”
The borough mayor could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. The mayor’s office referred a reporter to a spokesperson who said she expected to release an updated statement later Thursday. Police Chief Jeffrey Brown was not available for an interview Thursday.
Police in Utqiagvik are employed by the North Slope Borough, rather than the city.
The video, which circulated widely on social media, shows a North Slope Borough police pickup, emergency lights flashing, driving through town. Behind it is a tracked vehicle hauling a red sled with a body clearly visible. The person’s boots drag on the ground. Another pickup and an empty flatbed truck follow.
The images sparked outrage as they circulated in Utqiagvik and around the state. Eagle musher Jody Potts-Joseph, a former village public safety officer who ran the law enforcement program for the Fairbanks-based Tanana Chiefs Conference, called it “a disturbing display of complete disrespect” in a comment on the borough’s Facebook page. She urged the borough to “swiftly and severely” deal with what she called an atrocity.
The borough mayor’s office began an internal investigation Wednesday, according to Patkotak’s statement. He pledged to work with the police department “to understand what happened and what must be done to ensure adherence to the proper protocols while operating in our unique circumstances.”
He addressed the families involved, saying that “there are no words to alleviate the pain and anger you are feeling” and that the borough does not take the incident lightly.
“To our community, we strive to be better,” Patkotak wrote. “To our young people and all who are up against tough times, know that you are surrounded by a community who believes in you.”
Vasquez said she had been searching for her brother Wednesday morning after he left the house upset. They had been talking about getting him help. He hugged her and told her that he loved her.
She learned of his death from the video as she was out looking for him.
“The video was already going around. People were sending it to me and asking if it was my brother,” she said Thursday morning. “I could see his ski pants and his boots so I knew it was him.”
Vasquez said she went to the police station Wednesday to file a complaint about the way her brother’s body was handled. She said she was told by an officer they would take a report. Someone, she thinks it was the police chief, later came by the house to apologize.
The borough mayor did not contact her directly but did reach out to her brother’s grandmother, Vasquez said.
“I’m not really blaming (the borough mayor) for this because I know he wouldn’t take this route,” she said, adding she appreciated the way Patkotak worded his apology. “I don’t want to see those policemen out in the field. The way they felt that was OK ...”
The officers could have put her brother’s body in the back of a truck or in an ambulance, she said.
Vasquez said she wants police to adopt a clear policy for dealing with similar situations in the future. She also thinks the officers involved in the transport of her brother’s body should lose their jobs.
“My brother didn’t deserve that,” she said.