Anchorage’s fatal police shootings increased since 2000, Anchorage Daily News analysis shows

An Anchorage constabulary conveyance astatine nan segment of an officer-involved shooting connected Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Ava White/Alaska Public Media)

Anchorage constabulary person changeable and killed 34 group successful nan past quarter-century, pinch much than half of nan fatal constabulary encounters occurring successful nan past 8 years.

That’s according to an study by nan Anchorage Daily News that comes amid a spate of specified constabulary shootings truthful acold this year, nan tally presently astatine 4 fatalities, tied pinch 2016 arsenic nan astir successful caller memory.

The uptick has caused metropolis and constabulary section leaders to behaviour their ain review, successful nan hopes that they tin make changes that lead to less shootings.

Anchorage Daily News newsman Michelle Theriault Boots precocious wrote astir nan newspaper’s analysis. She says nan spike successful shootings this summer, and past nan fatal constabulary shooting of 16-year-old Easter Leafa successful August, created a flashpoint astir nan issue.

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This question and reply has been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

Michelle Theriault Boots: It really seemed for illustration it was a infinitesimal successful nan metropolis wherever nan speech was each astir policing and really to forestall further fatal encounters betwixt constabulary and civilians. And truthful we thought, “Well, successful bid to cognize that, I deliberation we request to cognize conscionable what has happened successful nan past.”

Casey Grove: So you went backmost done media reports and put together this study of really galore fatal constabulary shootings location person been successful Anchorage. And, you know, knowing that each 1 of those incidents is different, did you spot immoderate trends, I guess, overall, benignant of broadly looking astatine that information?

MTB: Yeah, I mean, I deliberation 1 point that really stuck retired to maine is that successful nan early 2000s, fatal encounters betwixt constabulary and civilians were really rare. You know, possibly astatine astir erstwhile aliases doubly a year. And location were, we would spell years without moreover having a azygous 1 of them. And past sometime astir about 2010, 2012 they conscionable increase. And again, it must beryllium said that nan wide numbers are very, very low. But what we did find is that sometime astir 2010 and 2012 location conscionable started to beryllium much constabulary shootings. There were 19 betwixt 2010, nan opening of 2010, and nan extremity of 2019, which is simply a existent marked summation from what we were seeing successful nan erstwhile decade. And past from 2020 on, we besides saw that location person been 8 encounters, aliases 8 fatal encounters, and half of them, afloat half of them, had happened since May of this year.

CG: So again, I mean, a logic to return a look astatine this now. But past you said pinch immoderate experts that way these benignant of things nationally. Was location any, I guess, relationship betwixt that inclination that we saw present successful Anchorage and elsewhere? I mean, did fatal constabulary shootings summation successful that clip play arsenic well?

MTB: They person a difficult clip answering that because of information issues. However, 1 point that is benignant of clear crossed nan committee is immoderate of nan reasons for, aliases nan scenarios that extremity up starring to, these kinds of fatalities are somewhat consistent. We recovered that nan mostly of incidents started pinch a 911 call, that being chopped from (it) started pinch an officer-initiated encounter, specified arsenic a postulation extremity aliases a warrant service. So 911 calls, and nan main of police, Sean Case, told maine specifically calls astir a what they telephone a misconduct involving a weapon, those were often nan scenarios that ended successful these fatal encounters. And truthful that is thing that also, nationally, is true, that 911 calls thin to beryllium nan measurement that these start, which is interesting, and nary one’s rather judge why that is. There’s immoderate theories arsenic to possibly constabulary are arriving connected segment pinch accusation that marks it arsenic a very vulnerable spot aliases a very vulnerable and highly volatile situation, but we don’t really cognize why. But that is 1 point that we recovered benignant of successful communal pinch nan nationalist trends.

CG: And then, I mean, again, we’re talking astir a batch of different circumstances present for these different shootings, but location was 1 that happened successful June, and that was Lisa Fordyce-Blair, who you wrote, was nan first female changeable and killed by nan Anchorage Police successful astatine slightest 25 years, right? And location were immoderate caller specifications there, and it fits pinch that business of a 911 telephone happening. Could you conscionable picture benignant of what you learned astir that peculiar one?

MTB: Yeah, each incident is unique, but location were immoderate elements to this 1 that did fresh pinch immoderate larger trends. So Lisa Fordyce-Blair was a 58-year-old female surviving successful her ain location successful East Anchorage. She had lived location for astatine slightest 20 years. She had been joined to a U.S. Navy officer, and by each accounts they led a beautiful quiet life. And past 1 time successful June, things conscionable took a inexplicable move erstwhile she walked retired of her location carrying a hunting rifle. Her neighbors that she’d lived adjacent doorway to for decades were mowing her lawn, and she didn’t look to admit them, and location she was equipped pinch a gun. They were concerned. They called 911. So constabulary responded pinch a SWAT squad telephone out, and that kicked disconnected a, you know, hours-long SWAT standoff successful which nan Anchorage Police Department utilized each kinds of strategies to effort to get Lisa Fordyce-Blair to time off her location and, you know, to disarm and time off her location peacefully. Ultimately, she fired shots, they fired backmost astatine nan house, and she was recovered dormant successful her garage. Her family has galore questions. This seemed wholly shocking and retired of nan bluish to them, but I deliberation that that lawsuit was absorbing to maine because it did exemplify a fewer of those different things.

CG: Now, what you described successful that business pinch Lisa Fordyce-Blair, you know, I don’t want to speculate, but it sounded for illustration location whitethorn person been immoderate benignant of intelligence situation aliases section happening there. How does that fresh successful pinch nan wide information that you saw?

MTB: That, to me, was 1 of nan astir urgent questions, and I deliberation it remains almost wholly unanswered. I deliberation that we tin look astatine nan facts that go nationalist astir cases and make immoderate assumptions, immoderate conjectures, astir nan domiciled that intelligence unwellness mightiness person played, aliases intelligence wellness mightiness person played. But I, you know, I posed that mobility to Chief Sean Case, and he said that’s really difficult to answer, because we’re talking astir a immense and undefined spectrum present erstwhile we’re talking astir intelligence health. And that could beryllium thing from a personification successful a authorities of acute psychosis — you know, reality is altered for them — aliases that could beryllium a personification who is nether nan power of narcotics aliases alcohol, who is not reasoning clearly, aliases it could beryllium a personification pinch a history of immoderate benignant of diagnosed intelligence illness. There’s a batch of things astatine play, and nan information connected that is, you know, arsenic nan main said, beautiful poor. There’s not clear definitions astir what are we talking astir present erstwhile we opportunity that a lawsuit is affected by intelligence illness. Now, I deliberation that nan constabulary section besides really would for illustration to cognize much astir that. They would for illustration to understand much astir nan domiciled that intelligence unwellness plays successful these encounters, and I deliberation that that’s 1 of nan galore information points that they, too, are analyzing successful their ain analysis.

CG: What other did they show you? I mean, you said pinch Police Chief Sean Case. They’re doing their ain analysis. I’m assuming that a batch of those takeaways are going to beryllium nan aforesaid successful their look astatine this. What do they dream to do pinch that?

MTB: I deliberation nan first point that struck maine astir their study is that they are going beyond nan questions that are asked each clip location is simply a fatal constabulary shooting, which really revolve around, “Was this legal, and did this break a argumentation aliases procedure?” And those are really constrictive questions, right? Just because a shooting was perfectly ineligible and nan serviceman won’t beryllium charged does not mean that thing couldn’t person been done otherwise to perchance forestall it. You know, Case acknowledged that those questions aren’t needfully enough, and that they are seeking to spell beyond that, to look deeper into nan data. They’re going backmost (through) 15 years of information to study everything they tin astir about, you know, nan past incidents. And he moreover told maine that nan spreadsheet they’re making, there’s 21 different columns, 21 different information points that they’re going to beryllium analyzing for each of nan past 15 years of shootings, which I’m really eager to spot what their conclusions are, and moreover, to spot really that will power policies and training for APD successful nan future.

CG: Yeah, nary doubt. I guess, I mean, there’s this rumor besides of fatal versus nonfatal constabulary shootings, and 1 of nan experts that you said pinch this, this interrogator astatine Vanderbilt University, Julie Ward, made this constituent that it could spell either way, basically, successful a batch of these situations, right?

MTB: Yeah, that’s a really important point. And what she had to opportunity was, you know, erstwhile we focus, there’s truthful overmuch attraction connected nan fatal incidents, for bully reason, but erstwhile we look astatine only fatal incidents, we’re really looking astatine only half nan picture, because her investigation shows that conscionable a small complete half of nan times that constabulary sprout civilians successful nan U.S., that we cognize about, extremity successful fatal incidents. So that leaves retired almost half of nan incidents, right? Almost half of nan times that constabulary and civilians are successful these encounters, and truthful there’s conscionable not arsenic overmuch known astir those incidents. The nonfatal shootings are, it’s overmuch much questionable whether those are going to beryllium successful media reports, and we conscionable cognize little astir those and nan outcomes. And truthful I deliberation that that is thing that we astatine nan ADN, and I don’t cognize if nan constabulary section is doing overmuch study connected that area, but I deliberation we would for illustration to cognize a batch much astir because, yeah, it’s a matter of centimeters aliases millimeters, right? Whether a shooting is fatal aliases non fatal.