Report: June 3 officer-involved shooting in Anchorage was justified

Attorney General Treg Taylor said the Department of Law will take no action in prosecuting Anchorage Police officers involved in the use of deadly force that ended the life of a gun-wielding man who reached for his weapon after being commanded to stop.

Taylor, in the summary of the June 3 incident, wrote, “the three officers’ actions, given the totality of the circumstances, were not objectively unreasonable, which is the quantum of proof that would be required to proceed with criminal charges against the officers. Filing criminal charges against Sergeant Frey, Officer Kimball, and Officer Flechsing is, therefore, inappropriate.”

A summary of the first couple of pages of Office of Special Prosecution’s review of the June 3 deadly force incident in Anchorage follows:

On June 3, at 9:29 p.m., Anchorage Police received a 911 call from a civilian reporting that “an albino kinda but more black” man had just fired a gun and was walking north on Karluk Street near East 19th Ave. with a taller Samoan male.

The caller told 911 dispatch that earlier the man pulled a gun on children in the neighborhood and tried to take a scooter from the children. The caller reporter the man with the gun had pouffy curly brown hair, was wearing brown pants and a gray shirt, a black hat and black shoes and was walking with a taller Samoan male wearing a black hoodie. The two men were heading toward a senior center parking lot on East 19th Ave.

Another caller at 9:31 p.m. told 911 dispatch there was a man screaming and yelling as he walked down East 19th Ave. toward the senior center with a gun. The caller described the man as wearing brown pants and a blue shirt and said he was near Orca Place. The caller said the man kept screaming and yelling as he waved the gun around.

A third 911 caller, at 9:33 p.m., said she heard one gunshot from inside her residence at East 19th Ave. and Karluk Street. She heard a man with the gun yelling and observed he was wearing brown pants with a gray or black top. She said he was with a taller Samoan man. She said ran back inside her house.

Sergeant Jesse Frey reported to dispatch that he was on-scene at East 19th Avenue and Orca Place at 9:32:39 p.m. Officer Isaac Kimball and Officer Nicholas Flechsing both advised dispatch at 9:35:2l p.m. that they were on-scene at the senior center. Officer Timothy Dorsey arrived as well and brought his dog, K-9 Ray, with him to the north side of the senior center, where Sergeant Frey, Officer Kimball, and Officer Flechsing were located; each officer was wearing a standard APD uniform.

The officers were standing behind a low wall near a dumpster and observed a tall Polynesian male walking on the other side. Officers identified themselves and commanded the Polynesian man, later identified as K.O. to show his hands.

K.O. raised his hands above his head and he was commanded to sit on the ground. While K.O. was following police commands to sit, another male wearing brown pants and a dark shirt, later identified as Tyler Jacob May, ran behind the low wall into the senior center’s north parking lot.

Officers observed a pistol in May’s right hand. Officers immediately commanded May to drop the gun and get on the ground. May put the pistol in his front waistband, raised his hands above his shoulders, and turned away from the officers.

May refused the officers’ commands to get on the ground and, instead, ran east through the parking lot. Officer Dorsey immediately released K-9 Ray to apprehend May. K-9 Ray caught up to May and bit May in the upper back, which knocked May to the ground. Sergeant Frey, Officer Kimball, and Officer Flechsing, all armed with rifles, moved towards May as Officer Dorsey remained behind them.

As the officers approached May, K-9 Ray continued to pull at May and May ended up with his back on the ground. At that point, the officers saw May with his right hand inside the front of his pants and saw as May removed the pistol from his waistband. May pulled the pistol out and pointed it in the direction of officers. At that time Sergeant Frey, Officer Kimball, and Officer Flechsing each fired their rifle, striking and killing May.

Sergeant Frey was equipped with an APD—issued body camera. The footage is 13 minutes and 16 seconds long, the audio begins at 60 seconds, and the timestamp is 9:29:37 p.m., the report said.

According to the report, Sergeant Frey activated his lights and sirens at 9:30:52 p.m. As Sergeant Frey drove to the scene, dispatch provided updates over the radio. At 9:33:32 p.m., as Sergeant Frey was driving slowly on East 19th Avenue, he rolled down his driver’s side window and a woman’s voice was heard telling him “he went into the senior center.”

Sergeant Frey relayed that information on his radio. At 9:34:14 p.m., Sergeant Frey arrived at the senior center, exited his patrol vehicle armed with his rifle, and confirmed with Officer Montgomery (who had just arrived) that they were at the senior center. He walked to the patrol vehicle’s rear passenger door and retrieved his ballistic helmet. Sergeant Frey was parked at the north entrance to the senior center, on East 19th Avenue.

At 9:35:12 Sergeant Frey started walking with Officer Montgomery towards the southeast from his patrol vehicle, in the direction of the northeast side of the senior center. The two officers reached the north side of the senior center at 9:35:48 pm. As they walked, they briefly discussed that the suspect may be on the east side of the building; that is, the side of the building they could not see. At 9:36:29 p.m., Officer Kimball approached and asked if the officers had eyes on the suspect. Sergeant Frey stated they did not but they could hear “mechanical clicking.”

Sergeant Frey’s camera was obscured by his arm at 9:36:36 p.m. and remained obscured, except for a brief moment, until 9:37:29 p.m. At this time, Sergeant Frey announced he was going to clear a corner and he walked east along the north side of the senior center approaching a low brick wall with a green dumpster next to it; he briefly looked around the corner and observed a closed door.

At 9:37:42 p.m., Sergeant Frey stepped on a wooden bench in an apparent move to look over the brick wall to the pathway behind it. Sergeant Frey stepped down from the bench and his camera was obscured from 9:37:49 p.m. until 9:38:19 p.m. Officer Dorsey announced “Hello, APD. Keep your hands where I can see them.”

Immediately after that announcement multiple officer voices were heard yelling “Stop! Drop the gun!”, “Get on the ground!”, and “You will get shot!” but no one was visible in this part of the body-camera video footage.

Sergeant Frey, who was to the right of Officer Kimball and Officer Flechsing, walked toward the low brick wall and at 9:38:36 p.m. Suspect K.O. was visible sitting on the ground underneath a tree behind the brick wall as Sergeant Frey told Officer Montgomery to cover K.O.

At 9:38:40 p.m., Sergeant Frey continued to move toward May who was on the ground with K-9 Ray biting him. An officer commanded May to “drop the gun!”

At 9:38:41 p.m. gunshots began and ended at 9:38:43 p.m. At 9:38:44 p.m. Sergeant Frey and Officer Kimball moved backwards as Officer Dorsey relayed on his radio “K4. Shots fired. Shots fired. Suspect down.”

Sergeant Frey turned around at 9:38:51 p.m. and K.O. remained seated on the ground with both of his arms held above his shoulders. Commands to K.O. were given and he was seen complying and ultimately was handcuffed. Sergeant Frey then confirmed with the officers that Officer Kimball and Officer Flechsing fired, and Officer Montgomery and Officer Dorsey did not.

Officer Kimball’s APD-issued body camera footage was 10 minutes and 54 seconds long, the audio began at 60 seconds, and the timestamp is 9:29:47 p.m.

The complete summary of Kimball’s camera and other details are in the 20-page report below: