Opinion ID: 855991
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Chief Hankla and Lt. Mills

Text: Following Chief Hankla’s second appointment, relations between Chief -2- 6765 Hankla and Lt. Mills broke down. According to the employees, tension developed within the police department between those who supported Chief Hankla and those who did not. Lt. Mills and Chief Hankla avoided each other at work. Lt. Mills claimed Chief Hankla filed false reports concerning Lt. Mills’s work and foreshadowed a termination by talking about “an opening” in the department. When the police department hired a new officer, Chief Hankla trained the new employee even though Lt. Mills was the department’s training officer. Lt. Mills claimed Chief Hankla favored others within the department in various ways, including having personal driveways plowed by the city, allowing an employee to come to work drunk, allotting more overtime work, and arranging rent-free city housing. Lt. Mills claimed those disfavored by Chief Hankla “were subjected to humiliation and high-handedness, intended to drive [them] away.” In late April, three weeks after Chief Hankla’s appointment, someone contacted Lt. Mills about an opening with the Craig Police Department. Lt. Mills applied, was offered the position, and accepted the next day. Lt. Mills gave three weeks notice of his resignation and left Hoonah in late May.