The third person this year has been shot and killed by Anchorage police.
It happened in the Fairview neighborhood of Anchorage, Monday night. Anchorage Police Department Chief Mark Mew says that a lone officer pulled over a vehicle and the driver came at the officer with, "two bladed weapons."
“Monday night, June 24th, at about 6:30 p.m. an officer stopped his patrol car on a vehicle in Fairview in the vicinity of 12th and Hyder and confronted a man there who was armed with a couple of weapons,” Mew said. “We're not describing the weapons in any detail today, but they were bladed weapons, and a shooting occurred.”
“The person was struck and ultimately died at the hospital.”
The man killed has been identified as 26-year-old Kenneth John.
Several witnesses are being interviewed. An investigation will be done by the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals.
There have been five APD officer involved shootings so far this year, three of them fatal. Because of the increasing number of APD officer involved shootings, the department's 'use of force' policy is under review and changes are expected later this year.