ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance apologized directly to the family of a teenager shot and killed by police earlier this week and promised action to prevent future fatal encounters with police officers in Anchorage.

The mayor’s words coincided with the release of raw APD body and dashboard camera footage just hours earlier from the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Kristopher Handy in May. The video’s release came nearly two weeks after the department released edited and annotated versions of footage from the May 13 shooting.

There have been six police-involved shootings in Anchorage this year – four of them fatal.

In a press release, LaFrance said, “We cannot and will not accept this as the new normal in Anchorage.”

“As a community member, as a mayor, as a mother of a 16-year-old, I am deeply saddened that we have lost such a young life in our community,” LaFrance said. “To Easter Leafa’s family, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. This young woman deserved to be safe in our community and you deserved so much more time with her.”

LaFrance and Case announced that Tuesday night’s shooting that killed 16-year-old Easter Leafa would be investigated by an independent third-party team rather than being investigated internally by APD as is typical.

They also said an outside investigator would “conduct a comprehensive review of APD’s training, tactics and oversight and make recommendations for change.”

Case announced changes within the police department, including the release of a public report on the findings of officer-involved shootings over the past 15 years and the appointment of a “newly promoted” captain who will assume his new role on August 26.

Case also said that a new community advisory council would be established to “give the community an official role in advising the APD.”

In response, several members of the Anchorage Assembly announced that they would hold discussions with the mayor and police to maintain transparency with the public.

North Anchorage Rep. Daniel Volland and Midtown Reps. Felix Rivera and Meg Zaletel wrote in a press release calling for an immediate review of non-lethal weapons training policies, third-party auditors and a model for civilian oversight by the Assembly by next spring, among other items.

In a separate announcement, West Anchorage Representative Kameron Perez-Verdia said the assembly plans to hold a special committee meeting next Wednesday at City Hall to encourage discussion about how to deal with police within the community.

“I call on the government to provide a detailed overview of the action plan announced today during the special meeting of the committee next week and welcome the ideas and priorities of my colleagues in Parliament to join in the partnership needed to make meaningful change,” said Perez-Verdia.

“When a tragedy happens, it hurts all of us,” he continued. “The authorities should listen to people, express their true emotions and feelings on the issue and figure out how we move forward.”

Raw body and dashboard camera video of fatal shooting of Kris Handy released in May 2024

The only changes to the raw video of Handy’s death, according to APD, were the blurring of Handy’s body after he was shot and some faces of innocent people “to maintain privacy and safety.”

“Otherwise they are unprocessed,” the police wrote in their statement.

Police initially said they responded to a domestic violence call in the early hours of May 13 when Handy emerged from the apartment with the flashing lights of a patrol car.

In a previously released surveillance video provided to Alaska’s News Source, Handy is seen with a long gun pointed to his right side. He does not appear to raise the weapon in the video.

At least ten shots were heard before Handy immediately collapsed to the ground, where his body remained for several hours, according to neighbors. Handy died at the scene.

In the months since the shooting, community members and organizations have called for the release of police bodycam footage as part of an effort for transparency.

Last month, the Justice Department said the four Anchorage police officers who fired their weapons – Sergeant Noel Senoran, Officer Jacob Jones, Officer Jacob Ostolaza and Officer James Stineman – were “lawfully justified” in shooting and killing Handy, according to a review by the Office of Special Prosecutions.

The nine videos released by the police show the camera worn on each officer’s body.

Warning: Footage released by the Anchorage Police Department contains graphic elements that some viewers may find disturbing.

1. Body Cam Video 1
2. Body Cam Video 2
3. Body Cam Video 3
4. Body Cam Video 4
5. Body Cam Video 5
6. Body Cam Video 6
7. Body Cam Video 7
8. Dashcam Video 8
9. Body Cam Video 9

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