ANCHORAGE — A Wasilla shooting involving an Alaska state trooper is at least the seventh shooting involving authorities around the state this year, including two Anchorage fatalities that prompted a local group to organize a rally set to take place Saturday.
In Wasilla, Albert Samoa Maifea sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting Wednesday night after the 35-year-old Anchorage man ran a red light and sped on the Parks Highway, driving toward oncoming traffic while passing vehicles, according to troopers.
The officer shot Maifea after the driver stopped and tried to run away, brandishing a gun, troopers said. No charges have been filed against Maifea.
Per department policy, the trooper’s name will be released three days after the shooting.
Troopers have been involved in at least three officer-related shootings this year. They include a June 17 standoff in Kotzebue where two troopers were wounded after the suspect, Arvid Nelson Jr., shot at them as they approached his vehicle, according to troopers.
Troopers and a Kotzebue police sergeant returned fire. A negotiator was later brought in, but couldn’t make contact with Nelson. Authorities later approached the vehicle and said Nelson apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Anchorage police have been involved in two fatal shootings and one injury shooting.
The latest Anchorage police shooting occurred Sunday evening. Police fatally shot a 59-year-old man, Harry Smith, after he threatened to kill others in a south Anchorage house and then himself, and pointed an air gun designed to look like a pistol. Harry Smith was taken to a hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead later that night.
Police on Thursday identified the two officers involved as Michael Jones and Bryan Heinz. Per department policy, they were placed on administrative leave for three days.
Lt. Dave Parker said the case is still under investigation.
Another officer involved in the other fatal Anchorage shooting was found to use justifiable force. The state Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals found that charges against Officer Boaz Gionson were not warranted in the shooting that killed Shane Tasi on June 9.
Police said Gionson fired his weapon after the 26-year-old Tasi approached him aggressively with a stick and refused repeated commands to put it down.
In light of the two deadly shootings, a local group was organizing a rally Saturday to raise the police department’s awareness “for better protocols on shooting to disarm versus shooting to kill,” according to a flyer. The event is being planned by the Polynesian Community Center, which did not immediately respond to an email request for comment Thursday.
Lt. Dave Parker said the overriding goal to stop a suspect, not to shoot to kill. He said police actions are set by the suspects themselves.
“We basically don’t control situations that require the application of deadly force,” Parker said. “Those situations are controlled by the people who are acting out.”
As for the perceived spike in police-involved shootings, Parker said the number is not unusually high. Some years there are no police involved shootings, while there might be several in other years.
“The fact that we had two situations within a month, that is very unusual,” Parker said. “You can’t write it off to anything but that’s just the way the chips fall.”
State troopers did not immediately return a call seeking comments the trooper involved shootings this year.
Comments (17)
Add commentKudos to those who place
Kudos to those who place themselves in harms way to protect us! Its a hard job and the pay is no where near what it should be. Thanks to those wearing badges. Note to criminals - don't want to get shot? Don't be a violent offender. Just cleaning up the gene pool.
Before the bliss ninnies
Before the bliss ninnies start in on this one, I hope people will stop and use their imaginations to think of the frame of mind a person would have to be in to pull a gun on a police officer. If you are like me, I'm sure you find such an action to be fairly unimaginable for a person like yourself. Further, I doubt if many of the readers out there have friends or close acquaintances whom they could picture really pulling a gun on a cop. With this in mind, consider whether or not you would want people who are wild enough to pull a gun on a cop roaming in society where you might encounter them. I know I sure don't.
With the above in mind, I feel that the officers in question were in the right in the action described in this article. I have seen the effects of a bullet. A bullet can kill a person in an instant. Therefore, a person with a gun in his or her hand is a threat to a police officer. Any person who refuses to immediately put down a gun when ordered by a police officer is wild in my book.
not sure what a bliss ninny is
But it's good that you've come up with a name for them.
I agree that any person brandishing a gun at a peace officer is asking to get themselves shot. Absolutely.
A stick, though? Sounds like a job for a Taser.
I would appreciate further
I would appreciate further coverage on the outcome of this rally. My bet is that not many people will show up. It sounds like a fairly Mickey Mouse event to me since the planners can't even be reached for comment.
imagine
Imagine the situation: You're drunk. You're angry. You've already trashed your house and screamed at your wife.
You step outside with a broken off broom handle and there's a cop pointing a gun at you. "Drop the stick!" he yells. But you continue toward him, waving the broom handle.
"I SAID DROP THE STICK AND GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!" he yells again, with the gun still pointed at you. But you don't stop - you continue advancing and waving the stick.
Again, two more times: "DROP IT!!!"
And that's the last thing you ever hear in your life.
I guess he should have dropped it
I guess he should have dropped the stick.
Drop the Stick
Another fact about the shooting of the individual with the stick is that the shooting happened Very fast...I think the report was 3-4 seconds from the time he approached to when he was killed. I am not taking anyone's side, however I do not understand how there could have been several commands to drop the stick before the shooting. APD is not all bad, but there needs to be a more in depth look at officer reaction.
First of all, the headline of
First of all, the headline of this story should read; 7 Officers Survived Violent Encounters This Year. These officers said goodbye to their families as they walked out the door to go to work on the respective days of their incidents, not knowing what the day had in store for them. They did not instigate these encounters and were only reacting to the actions and behavior of the violent offenders whom they encountered.
As for the man with the broom stick, anyone who has any type of training can maime and kill with a weapon such as this. In trained hands, even in unskilled hands, a weapon such as this can kill. Suspects don't have their training and intent tattooed on their forehead for officers to read as they deal with these people. If he charged the officer with the weapon in his hands, the officer may have only had 3 seconds to decide on his action and follow through with his decision. The rest of us have eternity to criticize his actions.
And lastly, for these boobs who say APD needs better protocols for shooting to disarm rather than to kill... well, you can't always fix ignorance. This is not the movies. This line of thinking brings about so much counter argument that I don't have enough room here to make a case.
That is all
3 or 4 seconds is more than
3 or 4 seconds is more than enough time to end up dead. If you don't believe me, check this out. I have for years listened to uninformed people with no real-life experience bellyache about how the police ought to use non-deadly force. This video clip gives a realistic view of what police officers deal with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9igSoJHEdUo
Just for the record, I have instructed police officers and correctional officers in self-defense tactics. There are many people out there who are more knowledgeable about this field than I am. However, I have at least a basic understanding of this topic.
Excellent video Fume. Goes
Excellent video Fume. Goes to show that in just about every violent encounter, the officer is the reactive participant and at an automatic disadvantage. This makes their job even harder to do. The suspects also don't worry about innocent bystanders or the legal reprocussions of their actions. They aren't weighted by the thought of taking a human life. They just act with leathal agression towards others.
Instead of the media pointing out how officers have shot 7 people already this year, they should be reporting how officers have had to use leathal force 7 times to protect themselves and the community from violent offenders.
You also have no clue what
You also have no clue what the circumstances were. Low light? Might not be able to distinguish that it was just a stick. Could be a knife. Its those split second decisions that determine whether a cop walks away or gets carried out in a bag. Given the choice of me in a bag or you in a bag, your always gonna lose.
And to those who say shoot to disarm, would you be OK with multiple shots? "I shot him in the arm and he continued, so I shot him in the leg, then the other leg, the other arm, the spleen, and finally the chest." You also up the chances of missing. An arm is much smaller than a torso, and even the best shot in the world, under massive amounds of stress and adrenaline, cant hit squat. any shot has the capability of hitting anything around the perp. A bullet can go through him and hit the neighbor kid, but is much more likely to cause major issues if it hasnt had a bad guy to slow it down first. You aim for center mass, and you shoot to stop. If that means he dies, so be it. Its not like they are out there doing head shot executions. People very commonly live through torso wounds from a pistol. Thats why I like a shotgun!
There is also a video of the
There is also a video of the shooting involving the stick...the officer was parked just feet from the man's door. I took seconds for the man to be shot after exiting his home. Again- I am just stating facts and not pointing fingers. You can take it anyway you wish.
BCZ, Please be a sport and
BCZ,
Please be a sport and post the URL for the incident you are describing so that we can check it out. I'm not trying to put you on the spot or anything. It would be a valuable contribution to this discussion.
Video
Here's the link to the APD shooting video. Make sure you have sound, it adds a lot of context.
http://community.adn.com/?q=adn/node/161588
I'm not going to maintain
I'm not going to maintain that the guy with the stick deserved to get plugged. However, he does not appear to be complying with the police. He actually appears to be taking a rather confrontational demeanor.
The information given to the
The information given to the responding officers was that windows were being broken, people were getting beaten and there was blood all over the place. That conjures up a pretty violent situation in anyone's mind. Officer arrives on scene and hostile man with a weapon walks out of an apartment, advances on him and refuses to drop the weapon. In my opinion, the officer handled the situation as should be expected! There is no "shoot to wound" or taser option here! The officer is alone and has to confront and stop this threat before he or others get hurt or killed! All bad guy had to do was drop his weapon but he chose otherwise and the officer chose to go home in one piece! Good job officer!
A report of blood all over, a
A report of blood all over, a hostile perp who is defiantly striding towards you swinging a long thin object, and refuses to either drop it or stop advancing? That wouldn't worry any of you? How do you know in 3 secs or less that isnt a sword? There are lots of things it could be. I'd a dropped him, no doubt.