State will not criminally charge officers who shot and wounded man near Anchorage gas station

Two Anchorage police officers who shot and wounded a man near an East Anchorage gas station in July will not face criminal charges, according to a determination by the state Office of Special Prosecutions.

The state found that officers Brandon Stack and Jacob Jones were justified under Alaska’s self-defense laws to fire at 52-year-old Damien Dollison after responding to reports of a man with a shotgun at the Circle K at Bragaw Street and DeBarr Road.

Stack and Jones were also protected in their capacity as law enforcement officers “based on a belief that the use of force was necessary” to stop Dollison and protect the public because he was suspected of committing multiple felonies, according to a letter to police Chief Sean Case signed by Chief Assistant Attorney General Jenna Gruenstein and released late Tuesday afternoon with the state’s finding.

Dollison pointed his shotgun at both officers as they sat in separate patrol vehicles, according to the letter. Neither was injured. Both said they feared for their lives and the safety of others due to the knowledge that Dollison had fired the gun at the gas station, according to the 20-page letter.

Jones was also one of four officers who fired at 34-year-old Kristopher Handy in May, killing him outside his apartment complex.

Dollison was initially charged in July and indicted Monday by an Anchorage grand jury on felony charges of third-degree assault and misconduct involving a weapon.

His shooting July 7 was part of a cluster involving Anchorage police that began in mid-May. The most recent was on Sunday, when an officer shot and killed a 24-year-old man in Northeast Anchorage who police said was holding a knife. Anchorage officers have shot and killed five people and wounded three this year.

The finding in Dollison’s shooting came the day after the Office of Special Prosecutions found an officer’s fatal shooting of 16-year-old Easter Leafa in the apartment she shared with nine other family members was justified under self-defense and defense of others statutes.

Most of the state findings have been accompanied by the release of police department body-worn camera footage. In this case, however, police did not release footage due to the criminal case against Dollison. The state’s summary of Dollison’s shooting was based on written reports, body-worn camera and dashboard footage, audio and video recorded interviews, and photographs.

The encounter started after Dollison pointed his shotgun at a man in a pickup truck in the gas station parking lot, according to a summary of various accounts included in the letter.

The man told investigators he thought Dollison wanted to carjack him, the summary said. Surveillance video showed the man got out and pointed a handgun at Dollison, who backed up, fell and fired a round without hitting the man, the summary said. At that point, he entered the Circle K, it said.

The officers arriving at the scene said they could see a man later identified as Dollison running, according to the state’s letter. Jones and Stack both said they saw Dollison point the shotgun at them and fire, it said.

Jones ducked and continued his pursuit, and Stack ducked before firing more than a dozen shots through his own windshield, the letter said. Dollison, who was behind a dumpster, could be seen on body-camera footage as he turned toward Jones and raised his gun toward the officer, it said.

Jones fired three shots and Stack fired four more shots at Dollison, according to the letter. Dollison dropped to the ground behind a Brown Jug liquor store with gunshot wounds to his right arm and leg, it said.

The gun Dollison had with him appeared to have a sawed-off barrel with its serial number scratched off, according to the letter.

Dollison had been represented by an attorney through the Office of Public Advocacy but was being transferred to another attorney this week following his indictment Monday.

Dollison remained in custody Wednesday at Goose Creek Correctional Center in lieu of $75,000 cash bail.