INFORMATION RELEASE

On February 22, 2022 at around 7:24 pm, JPD received a call from the family member of a 65 year-old male subject reporting the subject had threatened to harm himself. The subject was reported to have a loaded gun inside his residence at Kodzoff II Trailer Park. The family member told dispatch that the man has a roommate but did not know if the roommate was at the trailer.

When officers called the subject on the phone, he indicated he was going to hurt himself and that he had a gun. The officer asked the subject to put his gun away and meet them outside.

At about 8:07 pm JPD officers arrived on scene. While approaching the residence on foot, officers observed a male subject standing in front of the residence they were responding to. Officers announced themselves and started a dialogue, asking the subject his name and if he was the person they were there to meet. Officers asked the subject to walk towards them and show his hands.

During this brief exchange, one or more of the officers believed the subject was pointing a gun at them. One officer fired his department issued duty weapon at the subject.

After the shot was fired, the subject went to the ground. Officers approached the subject, checked for injuries and placed him into handcuffs. The man was not injured.  The subject was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

The JPD Criminal Investigations Unit responded to the scene to investigate the incident.  The Alaska Bureau of Investigations is leading this investigation.

It was later learned that the shots fired at the subject struck two nearby occupied trailers. One resident received a minor cut from glass fragments from the shot entering a bedroom window. This person was evaluated on scene by CCFR and released. No other bystanders were injured.

No officers were injured during this incident. Per department policy, the officer who discharged his weapon was placed on administrative leave.