Prosecutors clear Anchorage officers who shot and wounded murder suspect

Anchorage Police Department office successful downtown Anchorage (Dev Hardikar/Alaska Public Media)

Two Anchorage Police Department officers were legally justified erstwhile they changeable and wounded a execution fishy adjacent a downtown barroom past month, authorities prosecutors said successful their first uncovering connected this summer’s bid of shootings by constabulary successful Alaska’s largest city.

Alaska Department of Law officials released a missive this week clearing Officers Parker Boydston and Jordan Varak’s actions successful nan June 1 shooting of 22-year-old Kaleb Bourdukofsky. Police opportunity Bourdukofsky shot and killed 25-year-old Diego Joe down nan Pioneer Bar, moments earlier constabulary spotted him moving done a adjacent parking lot.

The determination comes astatine a constituent erstwhile constabulary are nether adjacent nationalist scrutiny, arsenic Anchorage officers person shot 5 people – 3 of them fatally – since mid-May. The metropolis besides has caller governmental and constabulary leadership, pinch Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and her caller APD chief, Sean Case, assuming agency connected July 1.

RELATED: After a spree of Anchorage constabulary shootings, advocates telephone for a national reappraisal board

The July 9 letter to Case from nan Office of Special Prosecutions includes caller specifications astir nan events that led constabulary to sprout Bourdukofsky. In nan letter, Assistant Attorney General Dan Shorey says Boydston and Varak arrived successful nan area for a bar-break item soon earlier 2:30 a.m. connected a Saturday morning. Several officers heard “rapid gunfire” adjacent nan Pioneer, pinch Boydston and Varak moving into nan parking batch down nan West 4th Avenue bar. Varak was equipped pinch a .223-caliber AR-15 rifle, while Boydston had a 9mm pistol.

As nan officers advanced, Shorey said, they were not yet alert that Joe had been killed – but group successful nan area told them Bourdokofsky had fired nan shots. Varak saw Bourdokofsky tally on a West 3rd Avenue sidewalk, driblet a pistol fitted pinch an extended magazine, past extremity to prime it up.

“Bourdukofsky continued moving eastbound connected nan sidewalk pinch Officer Varak and Officer Boydston successful pursuit,” Shorey said successful nan letter. “Both officers commanded Bourdukofsky to driblet nan firearm. Bourdukofsky did not obey nan officers’ commands; he kept moving pinch nan pistol successful his correct hand.”

The officers changeable Bourdokofsky arsenic he approached G Street, wherever he fell and dropped nan pistol. Shorey said officers provided first assistance until medics took him to Providence Alaska Medical Center for treatment.

Surveillance video from businesses successful nan area recorded nan shooting. One clip contained audio of Boydston and Varak ordering Bourdokofsky to driblet his weapon 3 abstracted times earlier they opened fire.

Both Boydston and Varak were wearing constabulary assemblage cameras, Shorey said. Boydston’s camera recorded some their pursuit and their gunfire, 35 seconds aft 2:27 a.m.

“Bourdukofsky is still moving and has not complied pinch either Officer Boydston aliases Officer Varak’s repeated commands to driblet nan pistol,” Shorey said. “Officer Boydston and Officer Varak cease firing astatine 2:27:38 a.m. and region astatine nan northwest area of 308 G Street arsenic Bourdukofsky lays prone connected nan sidewalk pinch nan pistol to his near side.”

Based connected surveillance video of nan first shooting, Shorey said conscionable 66 seconds had elapsed from erstwhile Bourdokofsky allegedly killed Joe to nan officers opening fire.

Investigators recovered 3 ammunition casings matching Boydston’s pistol and six matching Varak’s rifle. Medics counted six gunshot wounds connected Bourdukofsky, who survived aft curen astatine Providence.

In abstracted interviews pinch APD detectives, Boydston and Varak said that they changeable Bourdukofsky based connected some their ain vulnerability astatine nan clip and nan threat he posed to others successful nan area.

“Officer Boydston said that (Bourdukofsky) was moving to nan area of West 3rd Avenue and G Street, wherever he would person screen from nan area of nan building and would besides beryllium person to civilians,” Shorey said. “He said that neither Officer Varak nor Officer Boydston had screen wherever they were positioned.”

Varak said he was carrying less-lethal weapons including capsicum spray and a Taser, but Bourdukofsky was excessively acold distant and moving excessively accelerated to usage them.

“Officer Varak stated that (Bourdukofsky) had changeable aggregate volleys successful a heavy populated area, was moving towards G Street wherever Ubers and taxis often hold for riders, had re-armed himself aft dropping nan pistol, and ne'er verbally responded to immoderate of nan officers’ commands,” Shorey said.

Shorey said that nether state law, an serviceman “may usage deadly unit against a personification who whitethorn different endanger life aliases inflict superior beingness wounded unless arrested without delay.”

“If nan serviceman reasonably believed that his usage of deadly unit was basal to forestall superior beingness wounded aliases decease to either himself aliases different person, he was legally justified successful utilizing deadly force,” Shorey said.

As a result, Shorey said, Boydston and Varak acted successful lawful defense of themselves and others erstwhile they changeable Bourdokofsky. He declined to record charges against them, calling specified a move “not legally supportable.”

Shorey’s missive was released aft a Wednesday presentation by Attorney General Treg Taylor connected nan state’s efforts to velocity up its reviews of constabulary shootings crossed Alaska. Although Anchorage constabulary recently proposed releasing assemblage camera footage 45 days aft awesome incidents, authorities officials said footage should not beryllium made nationalist until shooting investigations person been completed.

Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore said that since 2010 prosecutors person reviewed 148 constabulary shootings statewide but person ne'er revenge criminal charges successful one. He called nan state’s use-of-force statute a “broad authorization” for officers to do so.

Taylor told reporters that immoderate changes to nan existent reappraisal strategy must originate pinch lawmakers.

“If there’s group that consciousness for illustration that process needs to beryllium fixed, past nan measurement to do that is done nan Legislature, done changing nan (Alaska tribunal system’s) Rules of Professional Conduct,” Taylor said. “But arsenic of correct now, our work and our main interest is to travel that law, arsenic it’s laid retired by nan Legislature presently and by nan courts.”

The Department of Law besides released 2 different letters this week reviewing shootings by Alaska State Troopers. Those see nan October sidesplitting of 21-year-old Timothy Thomas aft troopers opportunity he tried to participate a Tok motel room carrying a rifle, arsenic good arsenic nan February wounding of 25-year-old Victor Jack aft he allegedly charged a trooper pinch a weapon extracurricular a Wasilla home.

The officers successful those shootings, Troopers Timothy Rosario and Toma Caldarea respectively, were some legally cleared by prosecutors.