Even after his death, the Anchorage Daily Times opined, “His manner of enforcing his duties was of the peculiar nature that he did not create the enmity of the law-breaker but on the other hand instilled friendship.” The anonymous horde also whispered that the police chief was too fond of “bucking the tiger” to have any energy left for his official duties.īucking the tiger, a gloriously colorful idiom, refers to gambling at faro. The local sourdoughs suggested Sturgus was too soft on crime, too comfortable with the criminals he encountered, perhaps due to familiarity. Thus, Sturgus was the first unsolved murder in the nascent railroad hub.īefore his death, the lawman had not possessed the most sterling of reputations, at least not in Anchorage. However, the evidence is weak for any conclusion, and no official cause of death was ever determined. A long story short, he likely committed suicide. A frenzied attempt to preserve his life failed.

A night watchman found the chief alone in an alley, bleeding onto the fresh snow from a single gunshot to the chest. 20, 1921, a single shot echoed in the cold, quiet night. The first Anchorage police chief, John “Black Jack” Sturgus, was also the subject of one of Anchorage’s first mysteries. 9, 2020 at the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. The grave marker for John Sturgus, Anchorage's first chief of police, photographed Thursday, Jan. Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story. Part of a continuing weekly series on Alaska history by local historian David Reamer.

Updated: DecemPublished: December 10, 2023

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