Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Chuck Kopp resigned late Friday after less than two weeks on the job after a flurry of questions about a 2005 sexual harassment complaint.
In a brief news conference with Gov. Sarah Palin in her Anchorage office, Kopp said he was stepping down effective immediately. Kopp, appointed to replace former Commissioner Walt Monegan, who Palin fired, said recent scrutiny of the sexual harassment complaint had been too hard on his family.
Neither Kopp nor the governor answered questions.
"We're going to move forward now," Palin said. "This has been brutal on a good family."
No replacement has been announced.
Said Palin: "This has been a tumultuous week in the Department of Public Safety, and as your governor, I apologize."
"This is in the best interest of Alaska at this point," she said.
Palin appointed Kopp as the state's top cop job the same day she fired Monegan, on Friday, July 11. She announced his appointment on Monday, July 14.
At a press conference the next day, July 15, to talk about the new direction of Public Safety, the press pounded Kopp with questions about the sexual harassment complaint after rumors began circulating. Under visible stress, he said he did not have a history of sexual harassment complaints against him and that no complaint ever resulted in a lawsuit against the city or himself.
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