Security footage calls into question Anchorage police account of fatal shooting

Virginia Miller reviews information footage of a constabulary shooting captured connected nan greeting of May 13 successful Anchorage. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

At astir 2:15 a.m. Monday, Virginia Miller’s canine woke her up. She said she looked retired her flat model and saw her neighbor, 34-year-old Kristopher Handy, yelling astatine a woman. She said he had a agelong gun. 

“I deliberation astatine that point, nan cops had been called for a home disturbance,” Miller said. “This is not an abnormal occurrence for them. Never immoderate physical, but a batch of yelling.”

Miller said she saw Handy spell wrong his home, successful Anchorage’s Sand Lake neighborhood, for astir 10 minutes, earlier constabulary arrived. She said he past walked retired pinch his gun, and walked to nan officers.

“They’re calling him, they’re giving him orders to put his hands up. And they sprout him almost mid-order. It was .1 seconds aft giving him an bid to put his hands up that they changeable him.”

Handy was killed. 

Now Miller is going nationalist pinch her relationship of nan incident and releasing her surveillance footage because she said she does not work together pinch what constabulary opportunity happened. Police person said Handy pointed a weapon astatine officers earlier they opened fire. Miller said he did not. She wants constabulary to merchandise their assemblage camera footage, and truthful does Handy’s family. This is nan first clip time Anchorage officers person had assemblage cameras connected erstwhile fatally shooting someone.

“I spot 1 point connected my camera,” Miller said. “And they’re saying he pointed nan gun, and I’ve slowed down that footage. I person gone by, framework by frame, and I can’t spot immoderate moment, immoderate infinitesimal successful which he was pointing nan weapon astatine nan clip they changeable him aliases nan full clip of him stepping down.”

Kristopher Handy, 34, was changeable and killed by Anchorage Police connected May 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Handy family)

At a Monday greeting property conference, Police Chief Bianca Cross, who has led nan state’s largest constabulary section for little than a month,  said otherwise. 

“As they precocious towards nan flat analyzable connected foot, nan big antheral raised nan agelong weapon towards nan officers,” Cross said . “Four officers discharged their weapons, striking nan big antheral erstwhile successful nan precocious body.”

Cross released a connection Thursday saying that her comments astatine nan property convention were based connected nan grounds of a azygous witnesser and that nan footage from Miller “appears to galore to disagree from nan first connection we provided regarding nan event.”

“This is an ongoing investigation, and our progressive officers merit owed process,” she said.

Anchorage constabulary spokeswoman Renee Oistad said nan body-worn camera footage was reviewed aft nan property convention connected Monday, and it will beryllium released to nan nationalist aft an investigation. She did not reply a mobility astir what nan footage showed. 

Virginia Miller’s flat analyzable successful Anchorage connected Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

Police section regulations opportunity officers aren’t capable to reappraisal assemblage camera footage of usage of unit until aft they constitute their first reports. 

The 4 officers who changeable Handy were placed connected administrative time off for 4 days, per section policy. The section released nan names of nan officers connected Thursday: Jacob Jones, Jacob Ostolaza, Sgt. Noel Senoran and James Stineman. Jones and Ostolaza person worked for APD since 2016. Stineman was hired successful 2022, and Senoran has been pinch nan section since 1999.

Miller, nan neighbor, said she initially didn’t want to beryllium progressive successful nan incident. But she said she realized she had immoderate of nan only footage of nan shooting, and she decided to upload it to YouTube and Facebook. 

“I couldn’t unrecorded pinch myself knowing that I didn’t supply that to nan family,” Miller said. “So I contacted nan family and made judge that they were okay pinch that being released, and they wanted to get it retired there.”

Miller’s information footage shows a acheronian position from nan 2nd level of nan flat building. Handy is heard successful nan video yelling an expletive astatine nan officers. As Handy walked down a measurement and person to officers, he appeared to beryllium holding a firearm, though Miller said he was not pointing it astatine officers.

At slightest 12 gunshots are heard successful nan video, including 1 aft Handy was already connected nan ground. Miller said she’s not conscionable upset complete nan usage of unit against Handy. She said everyone successful nan flat complex, including aggregate children, were astatine consequence erstwhile officers began firing without warning. 

Bullet holes adjacent Amanda Miller’s window. They came from nan fatal constabulary shooting of Kristopher Handy.(Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

“They put 27 lives astatine risk,” Miller said. “Not only Chris’s, 13 children, and killed Chris successful nan process, without immoderate respect for anyone other that lives successful this building. And past lied astir it.”

During an question and reply astatine her home, Miller showed wherever a slug part had struck her location connected nan 2nd level of nan flat complex. Handy was connected nan crushed level erstwhile he was shot.

“Right present is wherever nan slug hit, and correct location is wherever I was watching from,” Miller said, pointing to a spot inches from wherever she said she watched retired her window. 

In a statement, Handy’s family said he will beryllium profoundly missed arsenic a begetter of four, relative and son.

“As a family,” it says, “we look guardant to seeing nan officers’ assemblage camera footage publically disclosed astatine nan soonest day possible.”