Police in Anchorage on Monday released the name of a man injured in an officer-involved shooting over the weekend. Dustin Folse, 35, is charged with two counts of felony assault and reckless endangerment after pointing a crossbow at people in different parts of town before the confrontation with police officers, according to charging documents.
“The person was described as an adult male wearing dark clothing, wearing a ski mask,” said Chief Justin Doll during a Sunday press conference after the incident. “The crossbow was described as being ‘loaded,’ and also that the male subject was pointing it at people in the area.”
Folse was first reported to APD at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at a busy intersection in Spenard. About two hours later, he was seen again near a traffic exchange on the south side of town, and officers hurried to the scene.
“The subject pointed the crossbow at the officers, two officers fired their weapons, there was a brief foot-chase, and the subject was taken into custody,” Doll said.
According to the charging documents, Folse was hit twice by police bullets, but his injuries are not lifethreatening. He appeared Monday afternoon in a wheelchair at an arraignment inside the Anchorage Correctional Complex. During the proceeding, Folse frequently interjected, telling the court he was being “illegally digitally imaged” by a group of felons in North Carolina, and controlled through static electricity.
“I used to teach high school,” Folse said at one point. “My life has been very brutal and strange since then.”
A public defender repeatedly advised Folse that he was speaking on the record and should refrain from speaking too much, advice which Folse ignored.
“They are moving me around the country,” he said, “making me shoot at cops.”
While he has no prior offenses in Alaska, prosecutors say Folse was charged with sexual battery a year ago in Louisiana, then fled the state. In September, he was arrested in Oregon for the unlawful purchase of a firearm. The judge deemed him a flight risk and set bail at $40,000 with additional conditions for release.
As per APD policy, the two officers who fired their weapons are on a mandatory three-day leave while the incident is investigated.
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
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