Anchorage police shot a man on Friday afternoon after being shot at. The entire incident was captured on patrol car camera and Anchorage police body cams, the tapes of which will be released after the investigation into the shooting.
Unlike the last police-involve shooting this month, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance did not quickly issue an immediate apology to the man’s family. She has, evidently, determined this shooting to be justified, while she quickly determined the last one was not, even before there was an investigation.
It was 4:24 p.m. on Friday when officers were dispatched to the 200 block of N. Post Road, where a man was said to be threatening people with a gun. The group huddled inside a nearby building for safety from the man, who was reportedly riding a bike and looking for them.
When officers arrived at the scene, they contacted the people in the building who identified the suspect, who was still outside the business.
Officers left the business to approach the man, who hopped on his bike and fled. Officers got into their patrol cars and followed him, and instructed him to stop, but he did not. Finally, when they caught up with him, they ordered him to drop his weapon. Instead, he fired at the direction of an officer and a civilian vehicle nearby. Another officer returned fire and took the man to the ground, but he sat up and shot again, in spite of multiple commands. The man was shot again by police, and this time was subdued. He was taken to a hospital with what police described as life-threatening injuries.