Public Safety

On Aug. 1, A small fire on Nome’s Front Street was quickly extinguished by the Nome Volunteer Fire Department or NVFD.

Close-up of a white Nome Police Department vehicle.

Nome Police arrested Isaac Ozenna Sr. on May 4 on multiple charges of sexual assault of a minor and coercion.

Nome's Public Safety Building in April 2014, where the Nome Volunteer Ambulance Department is currently housed. Photo: Matthew F. Smith, KNOM file.

The city, former police chief John Papasadora and former police officer Nicholas Harvey all signed the agreement by Monday, March 21st.

Green marble and stone building with heavy metal doors

The Alaska Civil Liberties Union has requested the U.S. District Court of Alaska hold the City of Nome in contempt of court and pay attorney fees on behalf of Clarice “Bun” Hardy. Meanwhile, on January 21st the City of Nome asked the court to dismiss Hardy’s case altogether.

Exterior building of Subway in Nome on snowy day

Two months after a burglary at the Subway sandwich shop in Nome, police are seeking community assistance identifying the burglar.

Three people sitting around tables discussing topics. There are two TVs with people on the screens

Reports of sexual assault in Nome are down about 50% in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. But it’s difficult to determine what exactly that means.

Black and white image of helicopter on the ground.

The watchstanders at the Coast Guard 17th district command center received a call, at 11 p.m. on Oct. 28, informing them of overdue boaters in need of aid on the Sinuk River near Nome, Alaska. The watchstanders directed the launch of an aircrew, Oct. 29, to bring the boaters survival supplies, and a helicopter crew to rescue the boaters later in the day.

The beginning of the Shaktoolik coastal berm. Photo: Anna Rose MacArthur.

Travis Savetilik stepped into the role of Shaktoolik’s Village Public Safety Officer on July 12. He graduated from the Alaska Law Enforcement Training program in Sitka a month earlier.

A Coast Guard helicopter lands at the seasonal base in Kotzebue.

A crew from the Coast Guard’s Air Station in Kodiak opened the seasonal forward operating location in Kotzebue as a response to warming waters and increased ship traffic in the Arctic.

Police arrested twenty-year old Javen Slwooko of Gambell in the Hansons grocery store on an active arrest warrant. He was mandated to return to the Seaside Center after completing his shift at Hanson’s on Friday, April 23rd but did not– prompting authorities at Seaside to notify the Nome Police for Slwooko’s arrest.