The death of a teenager is the sixth police shooting in Anchorage in three months

An Anchorage police officer shot and killed a 16-year-old girl who was holding a knife in an apartment late Tuesday night. It was the sixth time in the past three months that police have shot someone and the fourth time they have killed someone.

The series of shootings was previously described by Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case as an anomaly that goes beyond the department's annual average of three police shootings. The shootings occurred just months after officers were equipped with body cameras.

Here are the people who shot and killed police officers in Anchorage in 2024:

Easter Leafa, 16

Police said they were called to the Greenbriar Apartments in the 4800 block of East 43rd Avenue around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 13 after 16-year-old Easter Leafa's sister reported that the teen threatened her with a knife.

Officers who entered the apartment gave Leafa commands, and she approached them with the knife in her hand, Case said. One officer fired several shots, hitting her in the upper and lower body, police said. Another officer fired a less-lethal 40 mm projectile, Case said.

Leafa died in the hospital.

Her family raised questions on Wednesday about the use of violence and tactics used by the police during their operation.

Damien Dollison, 51

Police said they were called to the Circle K gas station in the 1400 block of Bragaw Street early on the morning of July 8 after an employee reported two men arguing and pointing guns at each other outside the store. One of the men, later identified as 51-year-old Dollison, fired a shot at the other man but did not hit him, according to a criminal complaint filed against him.

Police encountered Dollison in a nearby parking lot and he fired at them, the complaint said. Two officers returned fire, hitting him twice, it said. He was hospitalized with injuries and faces assault charges.

One of the officers who shot Dollison, Jacob Jones, also shot 34-year-old Kristopher Handy in May. It was the first fatal police shooting in Anchorage this year.

Lisa Fordyce Blair, 58

A neighbor called police to report that Fordyce-Blair, 58, threatened him with a gun on the afternoon of June 19, police said. When police arrived, she barricaded herself in her home, and a SWAT team arrived.

Fordyce-Blair fired several shots inside her home before a SWAT officer shot and struck her, police said. She died at the scene in the early morning hours of June 20.

At the time, SWAT officers were not equipped with body cameras. Case said that changed after the shooting, but the encounter was not captured by body or dashboard cameras.

Tyler May, 21

Police responded to the Anchorage Senior Activity Center on the evening of June 3 after reports that a man fired a shot into the air nearby, police said.

When officers confronted May and his friend outside the center, May ran from officers who ordered him to drop his weapon and stop, according to an investigation into the case by the Office of Special Prosecutions. Officers released a police dog, which bit May and brought him to the ground, the investigation says.

Three police officers approached him as he lay on the ground and fired as he “pulled out the gun and pointed it in the direction of the officers,” the state investigation said.

May died at the scene of the accident.

The Office of Special Prosecutions found the officers' use of force was justified. Body camera footage of May's shooting will be released in September, Case said.

Caleb Bourdukofsky, 25

Anchorage police were patrolling downtown early June 1 when bars were closed and responded to gunfire in the 700 block of West Fourth Avenue, they said. When officers arrived, they found that 25-year-old Diego Joe had been fatally shot and another man had been wounded by gunfire, according to an investigation by the Office of Special Prosecutions.

Bourdukofsky ran from the area and ignored police orders to drop his weapon and stop, the investigation said. Two police officers fired shots and wounded him. He was taken to hospital for injuries.

The state investigation concluded that the officers' use of force was justified. Bourdukofsky faces numerous charges, including murder. Case said body camera footage of the incident will not be immediately released because it could jeopardize the pending criminal case.

Christopher Handy, 34

Anchorage police responded to Handy's West Anchorage apartment early on the morning of May 13 after a neighbor reported a domestic dispute. Nine officers rushed to the scene and ordered Handy to leave his apartment, according to video footage released by police.

According to the footage, Handy raised a gun as he walked toward the police, but did not point it at them.

As he was walking down a small staircase, four police officers shot at him while he was pointing his gun at the ground. He died at the scene.

Surveillance footage released by one of Handy's neighbors in the days after the shooting raised questions about police's original account of the encounter. The department initially said he pointed “a long gun” at officers.

An investigation by the Office of Special Prosecutions concluded that Handy did not point a gun at officers during the encounter. Police released video on July 31 showing portions of the 911 calls, body camera, dashboard camera and surveillance footage. The redacted raw footage will be released Thursday, Case said.

[The first bodycam footage to be released by Anchorage police is out. The reaction is mixed.]

Handy's family has been pushing for the release of the footage since his death. They filed suit in federal court this week, claiming he negligently killed the gunman and used excessive force.

The Office of Special Prosecutions concluded that no criminal charges should be brought against the officers involved and that the use of force was justified.