The firm Drop Zone Security is apparently being investigated by the state Department of Public Safety in connection with its handling of a Joe Miller campaign event on Sunday where Drop Zone agents arrested and handcuffed Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger.

The DPS case comes as public attention remains focused on questions surrounding the incident, including why Miller employed private security guards, some of whom were active-duty military, and what led to the physical confrontation that ended with Hopfinger's arrest.

Al Patterson, chief Anchorage municipal prosecutor, decided no charges should be filed against anyone involved.

And on Tuesday, both Hopfinger and Drop Zone's owner, William Fulton, talked in more detail to Alaska Dispatch about the incident and its aftermath.

Hopfinger was detained after he tried to ask Miller questions about his employment with the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The Dispatch and other news outlets have been trying to get Miller's borough personnel file because, according to the former borough mayor, it contains an investigation into Miller's use of borough computers for political purposes in 2008. Miller has refused to answer questions from local media about the politicking and any disciplinary action that resulted from it although he told CNN on Monday that he had been disciplined for political activity. A Fairbanks Superior Court judge on Tuesday agreed to expedite the case and set a special hearing for this coming Saturday.

But on Sunday, Miller refused to answer Hopfinger's questions, and his security team stepped between the candidate and the journalist. The security guards told Hopfinger he was trespassing and physically blocked him. He pushed one away, was grabbed by the guards and handcuffed.

Anchorage police arrived and let him loose. They also refused to honor the private-person's arrest filed by Drop Zone agents.

Now, DPS spokeswoman Megan Peters says DPS is conducting an investigation based on numerous inquiries from reporters. She declined to say who or what DPS is investigating, just that "we deemed it appropriate to look into the matter."

Alaska Dispatch had called DPS Monday to find out whether Drop Zone was licensed as a security company by the state and whether Fulton, its owner, has a valid security guard license as would be required by the state.

Early Tuesday morning, Peters left a voicemail on a Dispatch reporter's phone saying the company did not have a security guard license.

A couple hours later, however, she said she couldn't say anything more about the company or the case because DPS had started an investigation based on numerous questions from reporters. And again, she won't say specifically that Drop Zone is the subject of the investigation.

State law requires any person employed as a security guard or a security guard agency to be licensed by the state. Applicants must fill out an extensive form with detailed background information and undergo a criminal background check. The guard or guard agency has to post a bond or insurance "to protect the state and its residents from damages arising out of the acts of the licensee," the statute says.

Armed security guards must have firearms training acceptable to the commissioner of DPS. And anyone who hires armed bodyguards must have written permission from the commissioner or could be charged with a misdemeanor.

On Tuesday, Fulton told Alaska Dispatch he is not a security guard and that Drop Zone is not a security guard agency, which is why neither he nor his employees are licensed by the state. He said the company is instead a "contract agency" and that he and his people are considered "security agents," not guards.

Fulton said he discussed his business with the state two years ago and is comfortable that he is operating lawfully.