ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Security footage posted online raises questions about the Anchorage Police Department’s account of what happened when officers fatally shot a man armed with a long gun earlier this week.
In a statement Monday, Anchorage police said four officers who responded to a domestic disturbance began shooting at Kristopher K. Handy outside an apartment complex after he raised a gun toward them.
But footage recorded by a neighbor’s security camera early Monday appears to show that Handy, 34, did not raise his gun prior to being shot. The video appears to show Handy carrying the gun with the barrel pointed down as he walked toward officers, ignoring their commands to put his hands up. Shots then ring out.
Anchorage police have not released footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras. In a statement Thursday, Police Chief Bianca Cross cautioned against a rush to judgment.
“It is easy to believe that video tells the entire story however that assumption is untrue,” Cross said. “It’s important to remember that video does not capture many details to include what happened before the video was activated, what happened after the video was terminated and what happened outside the view of the camera.”
She added that video “does not capture the human element of those involved to include their perception, what they see, what they hear, and what they know.”
The state’s Office of Special Prosecutions will determine if the shooting was justified. The police department’s internal affairs unit also will investigate to determine if there were any policy violations in the shooting.