“Say Her Name” signs flooded downtown Anchorage, Alaska, last week following a fatal encounter between Anchor Police Department (APD) officer Alexander Roman and a young girl, according to Anchorage Daily News.

Many people holding signs were members of the city’s Samoan community paying their last respects to one of their own – Easter Leafa, who was 16 at the time of her death on Tuesday evening.

One of Leafa’s older sisters said in an interview with Alaska’s news source that Leafa got into an argument with another sister when the situation escalated and Leafa approached her sister with a knife.

“When she made a movement – a very small movement – they shot – they shot her three times,” the nurse said.

She recalled officers asking for Leafa’s name, which she interpreted to mean officers had very little information about the case. They did not ask for any additional information, such as the owner of the home or the girl’s parents, she said.

Another family member expressed concern for their children, who were in the house at the time of Leafa’s death.

“When all this happened – the shooting started – I wanted to get out because my children were in the other room – they didn’t even know there were children there,” she explained. “So if something had happened, my children would have been hit too.”

Since Tuesday’s events, residents have marched through downtown Anchorage, with some demanding unedited body camera footage and changes to local police, according to Anchorage Daily NewsBut ultimately, they were marching for dialogue and peace, not protest, the demonstrators noted.

According to a statement from APD, Roman has been placed on four-day leave. In accordance with state and agency procedures, the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions will review whether the shooting was legally justified.

While the statement originally spoke of an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs, Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has since announced that a third party will instead investigate the situation, according to Public Media in Alaska.

Lucy Hansen, head of the Polynesian Association of Alaska, organized a vigil for Leafa on Friday, where she spoke about the community’s concerns about children and its trust in law enforcement. Public Media in Alaska reported in a separate article.

“Our young children are so scared now that they wonder if the police will come when they call them,” Hansen said. “Will they come and save them or will they come and kill them?”

LaFrance and APD Police Chief Sean Case announced changes in the department at a press conference on Thursday, Public Media in Alaska.

LaFrance and Case acknowledged that the number of deaths involving police operations has increased this year and that changes in officer training are needed.

Leafa had immigrated from American Samoa for a better education and was due to begin her penultimate year of high school in the fall.

AsAmNews is published by the nonprofit Asian American Media Inc. Make a tax-deductible donation of $40 or more or pledge a monthly recurring donation of $10 or more by August 31 and receive a free copy of The Legend of Mu Lan: Heroine of Ancient China, the inspiration for the classic Disney film. We are supported in part by funds from the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs as part of the Stop the hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA against hate.

Related