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When Is Deadly Force Justified?Two men killed this year in officer-involved shootingsRelated Content
ANCHORAGE—Two men were killed this year... by Alaskan law enforcement officers' guns. Two Alaska State Troopers are on three days of paid leave after shooting and killing an allegedly suicidal 19-year-old Palmer man during a standoff shortly after midnight on Monday—the first Trooper-involved shooting of the year, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety.
Troopers say when they arrived at a home in Palmer, they found Adrian Spindler armed and suicidal.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is investigating that shooting.
Troopers have shot 11 people in the past seven years—seven of them fatally, said DPS spokesman Tim DeSpain.
In May, an Anchorage police officer shot and killed a knife-wielding man in Midtown when police say he lunged at officers.
Anchorage police Lt. Dave Parker said the decision to use deadly force is not one that law enforcement officers make lightly.
"Everyone comes to the point where they have to come to a decision that I may have to use deadly force and prepare to do so,” Parker said. “The soul-searching goes on, the responsibility that a person takes in making that decision is tremendous, it's hard.”
Parker said making that decision about whether to shoot to kill is the result of extensive training to make the right call. He said, in some cases, APD’s standards are often more stringent than those of departments in other states, although he said he couldn’t elaborate.
According to Alaska statutes, a peace officer may threaten to use deadly force when the officer “reasonably believes it's necessary to make an arrest, terminate an escape or attempted escape from custody or to make a lawful stop.”
Since last year, APD has had three officer-involved shootings, including the May incident.
In March 2010, police shot and killed a 45-year-old man after a standoff in the Turnagain area. In another standoff a month later, police shot and killed a 48-year-old man in Midtown.
“Officers I've talked to who are on our department and other departments, it's never something taken lightly,” Parker said. “It’s something that person carries with them for the rest of their life. You recognize: this is something I had to do to protect life, but it's something you wish you didn't have to do.”
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Peter J. Frost said on Wednesday, Jul 6 at 9:38 AM
It's justified whenever one's LIFE is threadened.
70241836Kevin said on Wednesday, Jul 6 at 6:24 PM
Agreed. When deadly force is threatened, deadly force is the appropriate response.
70267849Anonymous said on Thursday, Jul 7 at 5:53 AM
Deadly force is probably the only answer, but if a guy is lunging at you with a knife, couldn't you just shoot him in the shoulder, arm, leg or some other non-vital part of the body? I still agree with the law, if you threaten the officer, and die trying, so be it.Too many gutter rats and gang scum out there.I beleive it is justified. Better the criminal than our policemen.
70287112aFan said on Thursday, Jul 7 at 4:37 PM
I think your story could have gone deeper to answer your own question, and to educate the public.
70323966Raven33 said on Friday, Jul 8 at 12:03 PM
Shoot, Cops can be illegal, drive their official vehicle while more than 5 times the legal limit for alcohol and still get a paid vacation while the investigation goes on and on and on... Why worry about them killing a few people?
70372627sam boulder said on Saturday, Jul 9 at 9:06 PM
if you threaten an officer then you deserve to die
70438621Tim Henricksen said on Wednesday, Jul 13 at 7:21 PM
The use of Deadley Force is a justifiable reaction to the threat of deadley violence on the part of an unpedictable perpetrator. This concept should be equally applied to all armed citizens who have the misfortune to become involved in a deadly altercaton. All instances of the application of deadly force should be throughly investigated to determine if the actions taken were approiate in relation to the threat.Defensive actions taken by a law enforcment person are not more justifiable than actions of a threatened citizen.
70661274Desirae said on Thursday, Nov 24 at 10:43 AM
i knew adrian me and him went to school together and he was the nicest person i knew there, he was alwayz smiling and giving out hugs to everybody, i know for a fact that man couldnt harm a fly if his own life depended on it, why didnt they shoot him in the leg or something, he was a good friend to alot of people, yeah i understand police have to keep them selves safe but that doesnt mean they have to kill everyone with a gun or some kind of weapon theres places on the body that you can injur that arent so fatal. RIP adrian
77431056Anonymous said on Monday, Jun 25 at 1:41 PM
Okay, So this happened a while ago but some of these comments are pretty stupid. It is wrong, I must admit, to threaten someone of authority. But where in this article does it say that Adrian threatened them? He threatened himself. It definitely said he was armed, but I agree with Desirae, he wouldn't hurt a fly. So all of you commenting on this, please show some respect. He was his parents only child and was very young. Love and miss you Adrian. Its almost been a year. <3
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