Mayor apologizes for officer-involved shooting before her own investigation even starts

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Mayor LaFrance

Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, who took office in July, has shown her leadership style. After an officer-involved shooting last week, she has taken a stand against Anchorage police in a case where a 16-year-old was shot and killed by an officer, while the youth was threatening others in her family with a knife during a domestic dispute.

Easter Leafa was shot and killed in that Tuesday incident. On Thursday, Mayor LaFrance apologized profusely to the Leafa family, saying, “We cannot, and we will not accept this as a new normal in Anchorage. We lost a young person in our community who should have been starting her first day of school today. We cannot take back the pain associated with this loss, but we can do everything in our power to make sure this doesn’t happen again in Anchorage.”

LaFrance and the leftists on the Anchorage Assembly have called for various actions, including a community oversight council to keep an eye on the police. Actions like these end up making police hesitant about doing their jobs.

LaFrance has said that instead the investigation by Anchorage Police Internal Affairs, she is directing an investigation to be taken away from the department and assigned to a third party, as of yet to be named. She asked her city manager Becky Windt Pearson to figure it out.

In addition, although such shootings are routinely investigated by the State of Alaska’s Office of Special Prosecutions to determine if criminal charges against officers are warranted, LaFrance labeled this as a criminal investigation into the officer who shot the person with the knife. She presumed him to be a criminal.

“An outside entity will audit APD’s policies and practices and recommend changes to reduce officer-involved shootings. Unlike internal investigations or the courts, the outside entity will not limit its analysis to what is legally permissible. The entity will prepare a public report so that the community has visibility into the changes within the department,” LaFrance said, in announcing what may now be seen by police as a witch-hunt against them.

“We’ve got to figure out what is going on and these investigations are about getting a clear understanding of the facts and charting a path forward for the department and entire community,” said LaFrance. Since Thursday, there have been multiple violent incidences in Anchorage, including shooting deaths. Some of these violent incidents that police have had to respond to since Thursday include:

  • A shooting at 2nd and H Street on Aug. 17.
  • A shooting death at the 400-block of N Bliss. 
  • A threat at Clark Middle School.
  • Lake Otis Parkway and Waldron Drive.
  • A suspicious death at Lake Otis Parkway and Waldron Drive.

There have been six officer-involved shootings this year, with four of them ending in deaths. From police reports, it appears Anchorage is going through a more violent phase, which puts both the public and officers in dangers

Although Anchorage Chief of Police Sean Case did not defend his workforce, the president of the Anchorage Police Department Employees Association was having none of LaFrance’s insinuations.

On Friday, Sgt. Darrell Evans said that not only are the families impacted when there is a police-involved shooting, but that officers involved are also impacted by the traumatic incidences.

LeFrance oversimplified the many officer-involved shootings, Evans said, saying that the mayor’s statements do “nothing to acknowledge the weight of each of those incidents.”

Here’s the full press statement by Sgt. Darrell Evans:

APDEA Statement on Recent Officer-Involved Shootings

Any loss of life is tragic. We acknowledge the pain Easter Leafa’s family is enduring.

We also acknowledge the immeasurable weight this incident has placed on our officers. We are mothers and fathers; wives and husbands; sisters and brothers. We value life above all else. And we spend the rest of our lives feeling the weight of having to take another’s life to defend our own or others. I can tell you firsthand that weight is never lifted.

I am dismayed by what City leaders have said and implied over the past few days. We have little fact-based understanding of what occurred on the night of August 13th, because a robust investigation is currently underway. Our justice system is built upon a gateway step; gather facts  before taking further action. Yet many City leaders appear content with calling for action without knowing the facts. That approach does not lend to good policymaking. The investigation has only just begun, and the mayor is apologizing for the actions of an officer that has yet to describe and explain those actions.

We have also heard the oversimplified statement that “six officer-involved shootings since May is far too many” and how that somehow reflects a failure only upon the policing profession. That level of oversimplification does nothing to acknowledge the weight of each of those incidents. Does it acknowledge the civilian who was killed by a suspect outside a downtown bar? Does it acknowledge the significant risks faced by community members when an armed man with a shotgun advanced on officers, and refused to comply with their lawful commands? Does it acknowledge the fact that an armed man refused to comply with officers’ lawful orders, after firing a gun, following a domestic disturbance, placing those officers in danger? Does it reflect the fact that in one of these critical incidents the officers were shot at? Does it reflect that each of the officers who acted did so only as a last resort when all other tactics had failed? Does it reflect the weight that each of those officers and their families must bear? Each of these incidents are  burdens on us all. And our collective reflection upon each of those incidents must honor the weight they carry for us all as individuals, police officers, and as a community. So, when we talk about “six officer-involved shootings,” there is vital information being left out of the narrative.

The APDEA and its members will always be part of sensible solutions that not only elevate our profession, but also elevate our community and public safety. For years, we’ve asked the city to invest in our workforce and training. We want to do our best. We strive to do our best. But like any profession, we can only learn and grow when we have real, robust, ongoing training. Policing is a wildly complex profession, and like any profession, we should spend our entire careers being exposed to the most thorough and thoughtful training out there. That’s what we want and need. But also know that even the most well-trained professionals can’t change outcomes when the entire event was set up for failure from the start.

We have for years called for more investment in our city’s social fabric. Help get those who are addicted or suffering from mental illness into treatment. Help them recover and grow. Find new or additional professionals to help us support those most in need. Don’t let our social fabric wear so thin that police are left to singularly deal with all of society’s ills and failures.

From tragedy comes opportunity. We look forward to actively engaging with all our community partners and City leaders to move our collective communities forward.

The Anchorage Police Department has some of the most professional, educated, highly trained, compassionate officers in the nation. It is unfortunate that our officers have been faced with six critical incidents in a short period of time, but don’t let that unfortunate fact diminish your trust in your police department. We will continue to strive to be the best police department in the nation and continue to provide the level of service and commitment to your safety that we always have.

Sincerely,

Darrell Evans

President, APDEA

73 COMMENTS

  1. What is the Assembly’s next play? Take the lethal weapons away from the police?
    Gonna get real tough filling those empty suits.

    • New ordinance: from now on, Lafrance, Case and the assembly must be the ones to now go to and handle/ resolve all calls with weapons and potential for violence to occur personally, themselves, in person since they are such experts on everything. She can hold a listening session she us so fond of….

      Don’t forget to Thank your Lafrance and assembl
      y supporters and voters

  2. A life lost as a result of a family dispute, and with family witnessing the event, is a tragedy for all involved. However, wrapping this incident in a handful of other issues, demand an independent investigation, and suggest that the police are to blame is not an indication of a leadership citizens can trust.
    The police must follow procedures before drawing a weapon and throughout an incident. The Mayor should inform the public that police are required to protect anyone threatened by anyone brandishing a weapon, including a family member. Decisions based on, or to appeal to, emotional reasoning is simply inappropriate and irresponsible for a Mayor.

  3. You all elected a Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis type of mayor, expect the rioting, looting and burning to start!

    • That won’t work in Anchorage. I know most people living in Anchorage aren’t Alaskans, but it won’t fly.

    • Anchorage is a military town with a tiny population compared to any other American city. If you look at every single Los Angeles/Watts riot, it ended abruptly after federal troops arrived and shot a couple of morons. Believe it or not, people can and do get suddenly obedient or disappear like rats upon witnessing troops shooting people.
      There has never been a riot in Anchorage, and I don’t expect one anytime in the near future. If it comes, it will be specifically because the mayor AND governor refused to allow the Army to restore order.

      • An armed society is a polite society. The whole of Anchorage would convert to “Korea Town” as during the Rodney King Loot, Shoot and Scoot fun fest.

        Anyone within 20 feet of the kid was in danger. Takes less than a second to drive home the knife. Now, if the shot is possible, a pelvic shot to drop the kid was an option… maybe.

    • The difference up here is I expect some business owners will not be standing by letting people decimate their businesses. The idiocy that surrounds the rhetoric already coming out of the mayor’s office is profound. The family wouldn’t have called the police if they could have handled this nut on their own. Entitled mentalities being foisted on the youth in the school district are directly responsible for this death, not the police.

    • Which ones of us elected her? Please be specific. Do you really think the people who read MRAK voted for this idiot?

      • Don’t be dense. It doesn’t matter if nobody here voted for her. She is the mayor because most of the people who bothered to vote picked her.

  4. One thing I know is that the rank and file do not like the Chief. He is a liberal hack who got his job because his wife use to work for Berkowitz. Of course the union only wanted more money and were willing to support the first black woman chief to be replaced by a white male So much for DEI! The people in charge of the assembly do not support police. You get what you vote for!!

    • Nope, they sure don’t. He is obviously a guy who promoted off the streets very early in his career.

  5. If a thorough investigation revealed unresolvable facts, I would give the benefit of the doubt to the law enforcement officer. 20/20 hindsight is a privilege they don’t have in the moments of deadly risk. On the other hand I would agree with an investigation of the investigators. The internet is replete with video documentation of police officers being tyrant bullies. The biggest underlying problem is their fellow officers do not call them out sufficiently.

  6. In all these incidents, here and abroad, it all starts with a desperate call to 911. Someone felt so threatened they called the number and gave an address. Police arrive and the mayhem begins where sadly officers are forced to defend themselves and the public. Wash, rinse, repeat. Next 911 call send Mayor LaFrance to show us how it’s done!

  7. When the police order you to drop the gun/knife, drop the gun/knife. When they turn on their lights/sirens, pull the car over. Disputes with police must be resolved in an ordered court of law.
    Like it or not, it’s all really and truly that simple. If you fight with the police officer and lose, you’ll end up getting whupped or shot and jailed. If you fight with the police officer and win, you’ll end up getting whipped or shot and jailed.
    Why can’t people figure these simple truths out? Because they’re brainwashed with political/social/ideological propaganda and told falsely that their “rights” extend way, way farther than their responsibilities. The media and our most basic education systems are failing. Completely.
    This isn’t going to get better any time soon. Prepare for much stormier seas………

    • What REALLY bothers me is the police are being blamed for doing their job, all the while a 16 yr teenager(almost an adult) is holding a knife and was threatening another person and refusing to drop it. The police were trying to avoid a killing. She refuse to obey the police who were trying to protect others. WHEN will people understand when a person threatens to harm others, the police has a responsibility to avert such a danger.. however they see fit. Unfortunately sometimes it ends in an unfortunate situation.

  8. Politicians and minions refusing to be rational. Gee, what a surprise.

    So… there’s an uptick in officer involved shootings. Okay. So let’s examine a few things.

    One, has policy changed? Are there new procedures in the APD manual which encourage use of deadly force which would cause deadly force to be used more often? Doubtful.

    Two, has leadership changed so significantly where officers are encouraged to use deadly force? Super doubtful.

    Three, has training changed to the point where it encourages deadly force? No. Not at all. Much the opposite.

    Four. Have hiring practices and standards dropped significantly? Administrators will say no, but yes, they very much have. The only question is, would that alone cause the uptick?

    Folks. The fact is, shootings of All kinds (fatal and non-fatal) are occurring more frequently in Anchorage.

    The problem lays elsewhere. The PD isn’t causing the issue…the “good” peoples of Anchorage are.

  9. APD needs shrinks with body armor and tasers on these types of calls. When a large woman attacks with a large knife, asking for ID is probably not the first thought.

    • Unbelievable. Do you really need a psychiatrist to ask, “Drop the knife”? Do you think a calm, female voice and using the word “please” would have worked? How about robots programmed in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to wrestle knives and guns from criminals and pin them in completely painless moves, and with padded grappling hands?
      Is there no limit to the insanity, Frank?
      Plain and simple: when the police, with guns drawn, tell you to drop your weapon, drop your weapon, or you will likely be shot. Period. Adios.

  10. Ok. Someone needs to be ugly and I’m the man for the job.

    One. I was done growing upwards by the time I was fourteen years old. Six foot. My sons are all over 6’3″ and they were done growing upwards before they were sixteen.

    I’ve spent enough time around Samoans to know well that neither males or females are dainty.

    A cop sees a non-infant coming at him or someone else with a knife and one thing will happen and needs to happen. Not enough time to check ID and make sure they’re legal.

    There’s the ugly. Would you prefer the funeral of a cop or the funeral of an older family member over the funeral of a 16yoa girl whose family photos of you’ve seen?

    Apparently Lafrance does

    • 17. Your conclusion suggests you’ve done your own investigation saving thousand of taxpayer dollars! Thanks!

  11. Thank you, Darell Evans.

    Please continue to speak up for the APD, who are serving under a mayor who did everything she could while on the Assembly to undercut their ability to serve and protect, and who appointed a chief that none of the rank and file respect because he’s a self-serving, amoral slimeball.

  12. Residents must be grateful for Mayor LaFrance’s wisdom and compassion.
    .
    Seems reasonable to expect “…recommending changes to reduce officer-involved shootings” will have something about reducing the number of officers… fewer officers, fewer shootings, of course.
    .
    Where were these gunslingers during China flu, was it they who saved the city from extinction?
    .
    Hell no. Peoples Code Enforcers, not cops, saved the city from certain destruction during China flu
    .
    … because residents know cops can’t shoot everybody, but they know from China flu days that Code Enforcers can take everybody’s money and stuff, including their constitutional rights, if they don’t do exactly what Peoples Code Enforcers tell them to do.
    .
    So, could replacing an arguably homicidal law-enforcement model with demonstrably efficient, profitable Peoples Code Enforcement actually be an understated initiative… truly progressive city governance, opening new doors to more grant money?

  13. Yep. Police union endorsed. Now she’s going to go social Justice on them. Nice. You reap what you sow anchorage!

  14. Typical with leftists. The perp always gets the benefit of the doubt in a shooting involving the police. No investigation has been completed. However, blame is already being layed at the feet of the police by the Anchorage mayor and the assembly. First of many probable disgraceful actions on their part. So law enforcement will be forced to live a besieged existence. The mayor needs to keep her mouth shut until the incident is fully investigated. That would be a refreshing change.

  15. I personally have inside knowledge that the rank & file at APD didn’t care for Bronson. They wanted “new” leadership. I find this extremely amusing that Bronson was NOTHING compared to what/who LaFrance is and the wrath she’s about to bestow upon that department.

    • Lefty LaFrance needs to keep her mouth shut?
      She proved time and again during the Covid lockdowns that was NOT an option.

      Dictators must dictate under any situations that are questionable.

      Ask the people who were drug out of the ASSy chambers by security and scorned who disagreed with her.
      She showed her iron fisted hand many times in the past meeting and Chrissy Constant always had her backside….even though that doesnt seem like Chris’s favorite choice.

    • Rank and file didnt care for Bronson because He wasnt as eager as LaFrance was to sign lucrative union labor contracts with large pay increases and benefit packages to keep them voting for her at our expense.

  16. This Anchorage Mayor is either incredibly STUPID or she is shamelessly using this incident to further emasculate the Police for her own political furtherance.

    Way to go Anchorage. I hope you like living in a turd world environment, cuz hell is where you are headed.

    • My only concern is we’re going to see a mass exodus of our police force once graduated from the academy, due to the fact they can’t trust the people to support them in their tough job. Anyone with a knife and did not drop it, will loose out in the end. She didn’t understand or not willing to understand, the cops were called to undertake this disturbance and anyone welding weapon without dropping it on command, makes a situation not go well. Unfortunately if she couldn’t understand,(language) her friends/or family should have intervened.

  17. Whom do you suppose Ms. LaFrance will call if and when she is assaulted, or threatened, or robbed? Considering how lawless she and her ilk have made Anchorage, it is more a question of when than if.

  18. Uh oh. Looks like lafrance is building the distrust in the LEO. People will start demanding to defund the police!

  19. I thought the police union and the new Mayor were joined at the hip. Maybe Assembly members Constant, Rivera and Zalatel could get involved. To my knowledge the police have almost no knowledge of my neighborhood. Let a hundred flowers bloom.

  20. Anchorage should have Sgt. Darrell Evans for mayor. His statement is 100 times more respectful and insightful than the crude, ultra dumbed-down statement made by neobolshevik LaFrance.

  21. I bet the police chief was at the vigil against his will. He was probably told he better show up. The placating going on over this before the investigation even starts is disgusting. Here’s a thought: when a police officer has his gun drawn and pointing at you, drop the friggin knife!

    • That officer just fulfilled the first rule of law enforcement: make sure when your shift is over you go home alive.

  22. If police are called for a family disturbance, they will come and follow protocol. So, if you don’t want your family to be in that type of situation, quit drinking, smoking, or whatever and as family take care of your own situations. You then can be responsible for whatever actions the “family takes” concerning the situation. I can guarantee you that of all the calls the cops receive, the domestics are the worst because in the end, no matter what they have to do, it is always their fault and not the fault of the family or families involved! Society is getting to react like our government, no one wants to take on responsibility or be held accountable.

  23. First move of a liberal is to throw your police under the bus. My issue with police is a seemingly lack of courage. The last thing you want to do is kill a person having a mental health problem. I find it amazing 2 of these officers would not have tackled her and taken the knife away. Instead they go for deadly force. It’s concerning. The other tactic is to get everyone backed off and let her calm down. If I were a police officer in 2024 ide resign and go get another job knowing if something goes wrong you will get thrown in prison. We live in bizarre times. When we loose our law and order we loose everything. Personally I think is on the verge of being lost. Thank you liberal judges and liberal lawyers. You are complicit in the destruction.

    • Suuuure.. Tackle her and get stabbed!! That’ll work nicely at reducing pension costs.. Dead guysdon’t collect, or is that what you’re looking for??

    • You obviously know nothing about law enforcement. A knife is a deadly weapon and when someone wielding a knife is charging at you that is not the time to holster your weapon and try to tackle the person.

      • I was being sarcastic. Sorry you missedit. I won’t bore you with the details of my time in the academy. You’d just take the insane flying leap to a conclusion, as you did.

  24. Transcript of Dispatch and Radio Traffic from a shooting that will occur next year….

    Dispatch: 911 what is the location of your emergency?

    Caller: 123 Main street. There is a person outside shooting at houses. I hear people screaming. We need help!

    Dispatch: Understood. Do you have a description of the shooter?

    Caller: No, I just hear gun shots and people screaming.

    Dispatch: Okay, please stay on the line. I am sending officers to your location.

    Dispatch: All units, report of shots fired 123 Main Street. Caller indicating multiple shots fired and people screaming. No suspect description. Any available officers respond Code 3.
    Radio Silence….

    Dispatch: Units 1Alpha 3Alpha,14Charlie, and 2Bravo respond 123 Main Street.

    Unit 1A: 1Alpha, my patrol car will not start

    Unit 3A: 3Alpha, Negative dispatch, having trouble with my radio, reporting to the radio shop for repair.

    Unit 2B: 2Bravo, responding but heavy traffic, it is going to take some time.

    Dispatch: Any other available units respond. 14Charile? respond….14 Charlie???
    Caller: Oh my God! There are two people shot in my driveway, I can hear shots up the street. Help us please!

    Dispatch: All units, caller reporting two individuals down in driveway. Shots still being heard up the street. 14Charlie, can you respond? Any other units, Can you respond???

    Caller: I just heard someone yell drop it and then a shot rang out. Someone is yelling for the police. I’m going out to the driveway to look.

    Dispatch: Please do not leave the house, police are en route and will handle the situation.

    Caller: My neighbor’s wife just ran up the driveway. She is telling me to call the police. I am handing her the phone.

    Caller (Neighbors Wife): My husband just shot the man that was shooting people. There are at least 6 people on the street that have been shot!

    Dispatch: Is the suspect down?

    Caller: (Neighbors Wife). Yes, my husband heard the commotion and grabbed his rifle and ran out in the front yard and shot him. I think the shooter is dead…yes, he was shot in the head. My husband is yelling for ambulances and police.

    Dispatch: Stand by while I alert officers.

    Dispatch: All units, caller reports that a citizen has shot the suspect and suspect is down. Repeat suspect is down. Any units able to respond?

    Unit 1A: 1Alpha. Just got my patrol car to start. Responding.

    Unit 2B: Two minutes away.

    Unit 14C: 14 Charlie responding. Did not hear prior calls but responding now.
    Dispatch: Responding units. Mayors office is ordering the citizen that shot the suspect be arrested immediately. Please advise when citizen is in custody.

    Unit 1A: 1Apha, my car just quit again.

  25. Note to police. Resign and retreat to conservative towns your putting your families success and safety at risk. These leftists will lock you up for eternity if 1 thing happens they don’t like. The residents who failed to vote deserve whatever they get you owe them nothing.

  26. What is she sorry about? That the cop didn’t get killed?

    You voted this in, Anchorage. Enjoy the consequences.

  27. Mayor, STFU until all the evidence is in your hands.
    You are a typical DEI hire, totally fitting the Peter Principle.
    You, and your comrades on the Assembly are beyond your level of incompetence.
    Resign as the total disgrace you truly are.
    Undermining our law enforcement creates a more violent city you incompetent moron.

  28. The answer to this problem is very simple and can be solved within a few minutes. People need to be taught that you do not come at an officer with a weapon in your hand. If that stopped there would be no more problem.

  29. The public statements put out by her family give no regard for the wellbeing of the sister who was attacked with a knife. I have little doubt that she is or will be physically and mentally tormented by her relatives for calling 911. OCS ought to launch an immediate investigation for her safety.

  30. Looks like Anchorage voters have elected someone who chooses to act, and dresses like, a 13 year old girl.

    Expect her to react like this until she grows up, and becomes an adult. Meanwhile the men and women in law enforcement will be dealing with the world as it really is, not as some pollyannish 13 year old girl would like it to be.

  31. The entire planet knows what happens when you move toward a cop in the US with a weapon. Doesn’t matter what race or religion you are, you get shot. This is no mystery. Perhaps the family needs to be looking in the mirror rather than at the cops who have to live with this on their conscience. And mayor-elect LaFrance commenting on this is just the ding-a-ling icing on the stupidity cake.

    • Ding-a-ling icing on the stupidity cake???
      You just used the same label we had for the Kackling Kamala word salad Queen. LOL

  32. First rule for dealing with the police. They, not us, have the power.
    Don’t have to like it, just react accordingly.

  33. People of Anchorage, prepare for a huge settlement at your expense regardless of the outcome of the investigation. It’s what leftists love to do.

  34. A better approach for the “Mayor” would be a series of public service announcements informing the public that, contrary to liberal belief, if you come at a police officer with a weapon, you will be shot for your own and the publics good. Hell, they could pay bums on street corners to hold up cardboard signs saying the same thing. None of it will matter. The increase in officer involved shootings is a mirror of the public, not of the police department.

  35. I used to work for a cop shop in dispatch. I support the blue. But that does not mean never question an outcome. From an article I read, 2 officers fired. One fired center mass kill shot as they are trained to do. The other fired a non lethal weapon. If this is true, this gives me pause. Was the death of this girl unnecessary? We shall see as investigations unfold. Many of these comments are “never question the police” but that is wrong. I do not agree with LaFrance on anything, but she appears to have reacted as MANY of us have with shock at the death of a teenage girl by police.

  36. Maybe Madam LaFrance should pin on a badge, buckle on a gun belt and respond to one
    of these family disturbance calls before she gives us her opinion.

    • Oooh, but then she would have to be close to one of those “yucky” guns,that nobody is super be allowed to have!! She would be petrified!.. It might bite, or just up and shoot her all by itself.. Isn’t that what gun violence “is?.. Those eeeevil devices going around killing,all by themselves?

      /sarc, of course

  37. Thank you, Sgt. Evans and all officers. We appreciate you and know you have a challending job in keeping us safe.

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