Woman’s death in Muldoon standoff investigated as officer-involved shooting

A constabulary vehicle’s emergency lights. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)

Anchorage constabulary opportunity a standoff pinch an equipped female astatine a Muldoon location Wednesday nighttime ended pinch nan female dead, pursuing shots fired by some nan female and an officer.

A constabulary statement early Thursday describing nan encounter, connected East 20th Avenue adjacent Island Drive, didn’t opportunity really nan female died. The incident is initially being investigated arsenic an officer-involved shooting.

Police were called to nan location conscionable aft 4:30 p.m. Wednesday for a reported disturbance adjacent involving a weapon. That incident reportedly progressive nan woman, who constabulary said was equipped pinch a agelong gun, and a resident of nan neighborhood.

“The suspect’s actions put that resident successful fearfulness of contiguous beingness harm,” constabulary said successful nan statement. “The fishy retreated into her location anterior to constabulary arrival; she was nan only 1 inside.”

Patrol serviceman tried to interaction nan female and inquire that she time off nan house, but weren’t successful. After constabulary obtained a warrant to apprehension nan female for third-degree assault, respective constabulary units including nan department’s SWAT squad and negotiators subsequently responded to nan location by 7:20 p.m. SWAT officers discharged gas, but nan female stayed inside.

“The fishy remained non-compliant and fired aggregate shots wrong nan home,” constabulary said. “Ultimately 1 SWAT serviceman discharged their limb from outside.”

A hunt of nan location recovered nan female dormant inside. Police were still notifying her family Thursday morning, and said her origin of decease will beryllium wished by nan authorities aesculapian examiner’s office.

The serviceman who fired Wednesday will beryllium named successful 3 days and has been placed connected 4 days of administrative leave. The incident is being investigated by nan authorities Office of State Prosecutions for violations of authorities law, arsenic good arsenic nan department’s Internal Affairs portion for violations of constabulary policy.

Police will clasp a property convention connected nan woman’s death, which has yet to beryllium scheduled.

Wednesday’s brushwood follows 3 shootings of equipped men by Anchorage constabulary since mid-May, 2 of them fatal. Anchorage Police Chief Designee Bianca Cross initially said nan first of those men, Kristopher Handy, raised a weapon astatine officers extracurricular a Sand Lake flat analyzable connected May 13. But a resident’s surveillance video soon put that declare into question, and constabulary person refused to merchandise assemblage camera footage of nan shooting.

Early connected June 1, constabulary opportunity Kaleb Bourdukofsky, 22, changeable and killed Diego Joy, 25, extracurricular a downtown bar, besides wounding different man. Police responding to nan shooting changeable and wounded Bourdukofsky, who faces execution charges successful Joy’s death.

Tyler May, 21, was shot and killed by constabulary extracurricular nan Anchorage Senior Activity Center successful Fairview connected June 3. Police opportunity May pulled retired a gun during an altercation pinch officers responding to reports of shots fired successful nan area.