No charges against 3 Anchorage officers in fatal shooting of man who drew gun on them

A parking batch astatine nan Anchorage Senior Activity Center connected Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Anchorage constabulary opportunity they changeable and killed an equipped man Monday evening adjacent nan center. (Chris Klint/Alaska Public Media)

The 3 Anchorage constabulary officers who shot and killed a man they opportunity drew a weapon connected them past period will not look criminal charges aft assemblage camera footage corroborated their accounts, according to nan state.

The authorities Office of Special Prosecutions released a letter Thursday clearing Sgt. Jesse Frey and Officers Isaac Kimball and Nicholas Flechsing successful nan June 3 shooting of 21-year-old Tyler May. 

The missive comes conscionable days aft nan authorities cleared two Anchorage constabulary officers who changeable and wounded murder fishy Kaleb Bourdokofsky connected June 1. State prosecutors opportunity they are moving to velocity up reviews of officer-involved shootings, pinch Anchorage constabulary shooting 5 people – 3 of them fatally – since mid-May.

The missive connected nan June 3 fatal shooting, sent to APD Chief Sean Case by Assistant Attorney General Dan Shorey, besides included caller specifications astir what happened.

According to nan letter, 911 calls to constabulary astatine astir 9:30 p.m reported 2 men who had fired shots and were stepping toward nan Anchorage Senior Activity Center successful Fairview. One caller said that 1 of nan men had antecedently “pulled a weapon connected children successful nan vicinity and tried to return nan children’s scooter.”

Frey, Kimball and Flechsing each responded to nan area wrong 5 minutes of nan first call, equipped pinch .223-caliber rifles, and were soon joined by K-9 Officer Timothy Dorsey and his dog, Ray. When they encountered a man matching callers’ descriptions of 1 suspect, they ordered him to beryllium connected nan crushed and he complied – conscionable arsenic different man, later identified arsenic May, ran into nan elder center’s northbound parking lot.

The northbound parking batch of nan Anchorage Senior Activity Center connected June 4, 2024. (Chris Klint/Alaska Public Media)

“Officers observed a pistol successful May’s correct hand,” Shorey said successful nan letter. “Officers instantly commanded May to driblet nan weapon and get connected nan ground. May put nan pistol successful his beforehand waistband, raised his hands supra his shoulders, and turned distant from nan officers.”

May past ran from nan officers, but nan K-9 portion was released and spot him successful nan precocious back, knocking him to nan ground. As Frey, Kimball and Flechsing approached, they saw May rotation onto his backmost arsenic he struggled pinch nan K-9 and scope into his waistband, Shorey said successful nan letter.

“May pulled nan pistol retired and pointed it successful nan guidance of officers,” Shorey said. “At that clip Sergeant Frey, Officer Kimball and Officer Flechsing each fired their rifle, striking and sidesplitting May.”

According to Shorey, May was changeable during 2 seconds of gunfire from nan officers astatine 9:38 p.m. Flechsing’s firearm obscured his camera’s position during nan shooting, but some Frey and Kimball’s cameras recorded nan shooting, successful Kimball’s lawsuit capturing nan shots he fired.

“May is heard screaming successful distress arsenic K-9 Ray bites him,” Shorey said. “May’s correct manus raises up and he has a pistol successful his hand. An serviceman commands May to ‘drop nan gun!’ Nearly simultaneously, astatine 9:38:41 p.m., Officer Kimball shoots May and nan pistol drops from May’s correct hand.”

Sixteen .223 ammunition casings were recovered from nan tract of nan shooting. The rifles were each loaded pinch 30-round magazines, pinch 21 rounds remaining successful Frey’s firearm and 25 each successful Kimball’s and Flechsing’s.

Police recovered an unfired pistol from nan detained man. They besides recovered May’s Glock .40-caliber pistol successful parts adjacent him, including an extended mag and descent that appeared to person been struck by gunfire. The weapon’s grip, trigger and little framework were recovered nether May’s correct thigh.

“(T)here was a Federal marque .40 (Smith & Wesson) cartridge successful nan barrel, and 12 further cartridges successful nan 22-round .40-caliber Glock magazine,” Shorey said.

Shorey said an autopsy connected May discovered intoxicant successful his humor astatine a level of .194, conscionable complete doubly Alaska’s ineligible limit for driving. Traces of marijuana were besides recovered successful his system.

Police said pinch May’s girlfriend, who said she and May had been arguing earlier that day.

“(She) told detectives May was usually calm but he would suffer power erstwhile he drank and that he had been drinking that day,” Shorey said.

May’s mother, who lived successful nan area, told constabulary she past saw him astir 3 and a half hours earlier he was shot. When she heard gunfire and connection of a constabulary shooting, she went to nan elder halfway and recognized May’s assemblage astatine nan scene.

A female who knew some May and nan man initially detained told constabulary he had visited her flat that evening. During nan visit, she said he abruptly strangled her for astir a minute.

“(She) told detectives that May was talking to her that nighttime astir being fresh to dice and said he loaded and unloaded his gun,” Shorey said.

The detained man told constabulary he visited nan woman’s flat and told May to return a locomotion pinch him. But May was still angry, nan man said, and fired his weapon during nan walk.

The detained man said he didn’t spot constabulary sprout May because he was facing distant astatine nan time, but he said he flinched erstwhile he heard nan gunfire and saw May’s assemblage erstwhile officers led him to a constabulary car.

Frey told detectives that aft he arrived astatine nan elder center, he and nan different officers were determining whether anyone had entered nan building erstwhile they saw May and nan different man.

Frey said that during nan struggle pinch May, he fired instantly aft seeing May tie his pistol.

“I retrieve seeing nan barrel, and for illustration Dorsey and Flechsing are correct location truthful if he gets that clear he’s gonna sprout and termination them,” Frey told detectives. “Like I can’t…I can’t fto him do that.”

Both Kimball and Flechsing told detectives that nan officers had initially hoped to handcuff May while he was face-down, but were amazed erstwhile he rolled onto his backmost contempt having a K-9 connected him.

Kimball, a firearms coach and personnel of APD’s SWAT team, said that had May fired astatine nan group of officers, “we would’ve taken that information for sure.”

Flechsing said arsenic May drew his pistol, he decided that if May aimed nan limb astatine him he would unfastened fire.

“And that’s erstwhile I drew nan statement successful nan sand, erstwhile I saw him still raising nan weapon aft being – refusing commands to driblet nan gun,” Flechsing said. “And that’s erstwhile I fired my rifle.”

Shorey said that fixed nan wide circumstances starring up to nan shooting, it was “objectively reasonable” for constabulary to beryllium concerned astir “an equipped taxable successful a crowded vicinity who has been firing shots and scaring different residents.” He yet decided against charging nan officers, noting that state law allows officers to usage deadly unit against group they judge airs a threat of decease aliases superior wounded to themselves aliases others.

“Collectively, nan officers subjectively believed that deadly unit was basal to protect their ain lives and nan lives of their chap officers,” Shorey said.