They want to, but village leaders refuse to allow it. The debate has caused a rift in the small village.

Town leaders say they fear firearms even in the hands of cops will make the village more dangerous. Police say town leaders are being unreasonable.

"Unpredictable, unexpected things don't happen here often, but they do happen," said Police Chief James Hoelscher, 27, who has lived in Hooper Bay since he was 13 and became a village police officer at 18. "A little Yupik Eskimo village is not immune to what can happen in Anchorage or Los Angeles or anywhere else."

Village leaders are unconvinced.

Elmer Simon, tribal government administrator, said he would support properly trained officers using guns but only in emergency situations. Otherwise, he said, they should keep them locked up.

"A lot of young people wouldn't hesitate especially if they're under the influence of alcohol to grab a handgun from the officers and use it against them," Simon said.

Hooper Bay is an Eskimo village of 1,100 on the windblown Bering Sea coast, about 515 miles west of Anchorage. It is among the last communities in Alaska without running water or a sewage system.

The village has existed for more than a century, incorporating as a city in 1966. It has grown in recent years despite high unemployment and few job opportunities. Commercial fishing and subsistence fishing and hunting are the primary means of support. More than a third of the population is unemployed and receiving public assistance.

Hooper Bay leaders cite concerns about potential mishaps or misuse of authority, even by professionally trained officers. Hoelscher and two others graduated last fall from the University of Alaska Fairbanks' law enforcement academy.

The Juneau Empire