Anchorage police officers fatally shot a 16-year-old girl holding a knife, the fourth deadly officer-involved shooting in Alaska’s largest city since mid-May.
The girl’s family has since identified her as Easter Leafa, telling local television station Alaska’s News Source she had moved to Anchorage from American Samoa four or five months ago, seeking a better life and better opportunities in school.
In a press conference, Sean Case, the Anchorage police chief, told reporters officers had responded to a family disturbance around 11.30pm on Tuesday after a caller said her sister had threatened her with a knife. He said the teen approached officers with the knife, and two opened fire. In a statement, police said the officers had given Leafa “multiple commands”.
“One single officer fired multiple rounds,” Case said. “A second officer fired a round with a less-lethal projectile.”
Leafa’s family recounted the events differently. “They asked her to put the knife down once. She made one movement, a little tiny movement, [and] they shot her three times,” her sister, Rosalie Tialavea, told Alaska’s News Source. “We all started crying and tried to run towards her.”
Neighbor Emily Emig said: “I could hear the family screaming from over there after those shots went off.”
Leafa was transported to a hospital, where she was declared dead. Her family told reporters they still have not been told which hospital it was.
“She would have started her junior year in high school on Thursday,” Case said.
Jharrett Bryantt, the Anchorage school district superintendent, said in a statement that support would be available to students and staff when classes start. “Our deepest condolences are with the families involved in this tragic situation,” he said.
The shooting is the sixth involving Anchorage police since May, leaving four people dead and two wounded. According to Alaska Public Media, state prosecutors have reviewed two of the fatal shootings so far, and declined to file criminal charges against the officers involved, saying the use of force was justified.
“Each officer is making a determination to use the tool that they have with them based on the circumstances in front of them,” said Case. He added that department policy requires officers using less-lethal weapons be backed up by others with lethal force, and that the incident was recorded on officers’ body cameras.
The officers involved had not been interviewed at the time of the press conference on Wednesday morning, and the name of the officer who killed Leafa had not been released. According to department policy, it will be released after 72 hours and the state office of special prosecutions will investigate the incident.
Case said the department would “continue to look at our training, our tactics, as well as our supervision in these types of incidents to try to prevent future officer-involved shootings” and that police will hold another news conference to discuss the shooting in greater detail on Monday.
