Anchorage police say a young girl approached a police officer with a knife before being shot

According to the Anchorage Police Chief, 16-year-old Easter Leafa was holding a knife with a blade about 7 inches long when a police officer shot her last week.

Leafa's murder on August 13 sparked widespread outrage and demands for answers.

During a press conference on Monday, Police Chief Sean Case provided some additional information to what officers had said about the incident, but added that much still needs to be investigated.

According to Case, police initially received a 911 call from Leafa's older sister. She said Leafa threatened her with a knife.

“The argument was about the older sister not doing what the younger sister wanted,” Case said.

Officers were also told that Leafa had left the apartment with the knife, although Case said when officers arrived, she had already returned to the house and was on a back porch. Case said there were about nine people in the apartment and officers tried to get the family members into a bedroom. He said officers then went to the porch where they found Leafa sitting under a blanket. He said officers ordered her to take the blanket away and show her empty hands.

Case said she dropped the blanket, stood up and faced officers.

“The best description I can give is that Easter had the knife in her right hand,” Case said. “She had it slightly higher than leg height as she walked toward the officers in a confined space.”

As she approached police, an officer later identified as Alexander Roman fired three shots at her, Case said, while another officer fired a “less lethal” 40-millimeter projectile. Officers and paramedics rendered medical aid and took Leafa to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Roman was placed on leave for four days. Case declined to comment Monday whether he would return to work.

Case also declined to comment on what happened between the time police saw Leafa and the shooting, saying he was waiting for video footage of the incident to be released.

In the days since Leafa's death, community members have expressed remorse and anger. Leafa and her family had recently moved to the city from American Samoa, and she was due to start her 11th year of high school last Friday. She is the fourth person killed by Anchorage officers during a police operation since mid-May.

Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance announced a series of reforms last Thursday aimed at curbing police shootings and building public trust. The changes include the creation of a citizens' panel to review policing, a review of officers' training at the police academy and a review of police shootings over the past 15 years.

Although the initiatives were announced less than 48 hours after Leafa's death, Case said they have been in the works since he took over as head of the department in July.

“These are not direct results of this particular police-involved shooting or any other,” Case said at Monday's press conference. “These are areas that we should be continually reviewing to make sure that our policies, procedures and training are consistent with common standards and common practices across the country and that we have the latest technology.”

LaFrance also announced that after a review by the state Office of Special Prosecutions, a third party would investigate Leafa's shooting, something Case said has never happened before.

“We will outline and define that over time,” Case said. “But at this point, it will be different than what we have seen in the past. We have never had an outside person, entity or group review our administrative procedures after a police officer-involved shooting.”

Meanwhile, the head of the city's police union said he was “dismayed” by the response of LaFrance and Case.

“The investigation has only just begun and the mayor apologizes for the actions of an officer who has yet to describe and explain those actions,” Darrell Evans, president of the Anchorage Police Department Employees Association, said in a letter sent Friday.

“Each of these incidents is a burden on all of us,” Evans added. “And our collective consideration of each of these incidents must take into account the burden they place on all of us as individuals, police officers and as a community.”

Case declined to comment on Evans' letter.

Case said the department still needs to review additional evidence from the shooting, including body camera footage and audio recordings of the incident.

At the press conference, Case reiterated his love for the Anchorage Police Department.

“I love the people who serve every day,” Case said. “They do hard work and I have extremely high expectations of them because I know what they are capable of.”

He added that he understands the concerns Anchorage residents have expressed since Leafa's shooting.

“I cannot take away the pain that a police officer-involved shooting causes this department, our community and especially Easter's family,” Case said. “I can assure you that we will continually monitor what we are doing to ensure that we are providing the best services to this community to protect our officers and the community.”

Editor's note: This story has been updated with corrected information from Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case. He originally described the knife Easter Leafa was holding as similar to a steak knife, but later clarified that it was more accurate to describe it as a knife with a blade about 7 inches long. He also clarified that officers did not order Leafa to stand up, but only told her to show her empty hands.