Early Christmas morning, a woman armed with a hatchet was fatally shot by Juneau police after advancing on officers in a parking lot, despite a failed attempt to subdue her with a taser.
The incident occurred at 5:25 a.m. on Dec. 25 at the Valley Breeze-In, following reports of a disturbance involving a woman threatening people with a hammer.
Juneau Police Department officers arrived on the scene and encountered the 30-year-old woman in the parking lot. Holding a hatchet, the woman ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon and began advancing toward the officers.
In an attempt to de-escalate the situation, one officer deployed a taser, which struck the woman but failed to stop her approach. As the woman continued toward one of the officers with the hatchet, an officer discharged their firearm, fatally striking her.
Emergency medical personnel from Capital City Fire/Rescue were dispatched, but the woman was declared deceased at the scene. No officers or bystanders were injured during the incident.
The Juneau Police Department and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation will conduct an investigation into the shooting. The State of Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions will review the findings to determine whether the use of lethal force was legally justified.
Per JPD policy, the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave. Their names will remain undisclosed until they have been formally interviewed as part of the investigation. The woman’s next of kin has been notified.
never take a hatchet to a gun fight.
Thats a fact Jack. Pew Pew beats stick most times. JPD just saved the taxpayer a ton of money.
First rule of law enforcement:
At the end of your shift make sure you go home alive.
Use of lethal force was justified in the shooting. The Officers tried to use non-lethal force that did not work and had to resort to the use of lethal force. If this investigation takes longer than a couple of days something is wrong with the investigators.
Well there we have it. We don’t need a formal investigation. All we need is Steven to show us the mountain of incontrovertible proof he is sitting on.
Would you say the same thing if it was one of your family members who suffered from mental instability?
I cannot speak for Steven, but I would. The police acted appropriately.
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And, should we allow dangerous people to harm others? Because that’s what your question implies. Allow a dangerous person intent on harming others to do so because a family member might be upset.
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That’s just stupid.
So killing her was the only available solution? I very much doubt it. If they shot her in the leg, I’m pretty sure she’d still be alive. Or what about spraying her with bear repellant or Mace. I mean, it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with ways of reliably disabling a person short of shooting them to death. Come on. That’s just stupid.
Scenario fulfillment is a thing.
Shot her in the leg.
Where the femoral artery is?
And, have you tried to shoot a moving target with that level of precision? How many shots should the police have before they need to aim for center mass?
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So, bear spray or mace. Got it. That is effective… what about 50% of the time? Plenty of videos out there of people getting a face full of mace/pepper spray and continuing their attacks. This woman already took a taser and continued, but in your world, a spritz of pepper spray would have stopped her.
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And, exactly how long should the police take to try non-lethal methods before shooting them in center mass? Should they wait until an innocent bystander is maimed? Or they themselves are maimed? At what point does the jeopardy to the police overcome your “hugs and kisses will fix it” attitude?
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What is really stupid is Monday morning quarterbacking the situation without any real facts. Which is exactly what you are doing.
That’s methed up….
About 1978 to 1980 the American people decided to close most of our state run mental institutions in the mistaken belief the patients were being so badly abused they would better off on the streets. This experiment is not going well. Simply providing the mentally retarded a place to pile up is not going to cut it. They are in dire need of professional and loving constant supervision. Anything else is just plain abuse.
Bravo bravo bravo.
capt lewis…you are my hero😂😂😂😂😂
Stupid games/stupid prizes.
Sad.
So much for shock therapy.
JPD needs to investigate better ways to subdue attackers.
Like use a TASER?
If this ever happens to someone you love I doubt you will be so glib.
If the shoe fits, you must wear it. Even if you don’t know the meaning of a big fancy word such as “glib”.
Another comment implying the police should allows innocent people to be harmed because a family member might be upset.
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I might not be thrilled to find out a relative was shot by the police, but I would not expect the police to ignore the threat to the public.
That’s just stupid.
Let’s see the video so we can all judge for ourselves if her behavior was so threatening as to justify her killing.
Scenario fulfillment is a thing.
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