An Anchorage man who exchanged gunfire with a police officer before a police dog helped subdue him now faces charges of assault.
Kamehameha Patterson, 24, is alleged to have choked his wife twice in their home in the Russian Jack neighborhood April 7, according to a charging document filed a week later.
At one point, Patterson is alleged to have lifted his wife off the ground with his hands around her neck as she held her 5-month-old child. Patterson’s wife told officers that he would “change like a switch” when he drank and would abuse her, the charges say. Witnesses also told police that Patterson consumed mushrooms prior to strangling his wife, according to the charges.
Police responded at around 3 a.m. and set up a perimeter. At around 6 a.m., Patterson fled on foot and officers chased after him, police said.
During the chase, Patterson and an officer, later identified as Maxwell Horowitz, exchanged gunfire, police said. No one was injured by the gunfire, but Patterson was hospitalized after a police dog injured him during the arrest.
Patterson pleaded not guilty to the three felony assault charges.
Patterson’s next court appearance in the case is set for May 14.
The state Office of Special Prosecutions will review the incident to see if Horowitz was legally justified in using deadly force by shooting at Patterson. Patterson is the second of three people shot or shot at by Anchorage police so far in 2026.
