At rally to support family of Anchorage man killed by police, calls for transparency and accountability

Around 100 people gathered near downtown Anchorage on Friday evening in remembrance of Bishar Hassan, a man killed by Anchorage police in 2019, and to call for transparency and accountability in the city’s policing practices.

Signs from rallygoers read “justice for all,” “police accountability,” “APD body cameras now” and “Justice for Bishar.”

Some held flyers with an illustration of Hassan’s face on them throughout the gathering. A large painting of Hassan’s face was propped up at the front of the rally, looking out at the crowd.

The rally was held near where Hassan was killed. Speakers called for better de-escalation practices from police and implementation of body cameras for Anchorage police officers. They also expressed support for Hassan’s family.

Abdira Haman, who knew Hassan and spoke during the rally, said he appreciated everyone coming out in support. It was painful to see Hassan taken, he said after the event.

“This is a time that we will never forget and history will always remember, not only Bishar, but every single person whose lives (were) taken by the cops,” Haman said.

Hassan was shot and killed by police on April 1, 2019, near West 16th Avenue and A Street. Officers began shooting him after he pulled a BB gun from the waistband of his pants. An investigation by the assistant attorney general for the Office of Special Prosecutions determined the actions of Nathan Lewis, Matthew Hall and Brett Eggiman, the three officers who shot Hassan, were justified and they were not charged criminally.

Hassan’s brother, Ahmed Hassan, and mother, Bilay Idiris, filed a civil lawsuit last year that seeks $20 million for wrongful death and civil rights violations from the municipality, the officers involved and other municipal employees.

Hassan’s killing was captured on police dashboard cameras. NBC News posted dash cam footage this February after the family’s lawyer provided it to the news outlet.

“If it were not for the dash cam, we wouldn’t have known what happened that day and it took two years for the family to get that video,” said Rich Curtner, an attorney who co-chairs the Alaska Black Caucus’ justice committee. “That’s why it’s important to have body cams on all the officers, and to have a policy where if there’s a shooting or use of force, that the community can see what happened.”

A spokesperson for the Anchorage Police Department said the department had no further comment on the 2019 killing because of pending litigation.

Some speakers during the event pointed out the length of time it took for officers to render aid after shooting Hassan, as shown in the dash cam footage.

Celeste Hodge Growden, president and CEO of the Alaska Black Caucus, began the event by standing in silence for two minutes.

”Seemed like a long time, didn’t it? Me standing up here in silence,” she said. “Well, just imagine how long it took before they provided aid to Bishar Hassan.”

Hassan’s brother, Ahmed Hassan, thanked everyone who came to the rally and for supporting him and his family.

“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for helping to shine the lights in that moment,” Ahmed Hassan said during the rally. “Today we can fight (for a) more just America, more justice Alaska and more justice Anchorage,” Ahmed Hassan said.

Rex Butler, a lawyer representing Hassan’s family in the lawsuit, said he and the family were under a gag order to not speak about the case to the press.

“So without making any comments about the case itself, one thing that the Bishar case, Mr. Hassan, this young man who is no longer with us — could be a lightning rod for body cams and the need for them,” he said during the rally.

While dashboard cameras sit at a fixed angle, body cameras instead give a view of what an officer sees and reacts to, Butler said.

Anchorage voters passed a $1.8 million annual levy in support of body cams last year, but it remains unclear when the police department will outfit officers with body cameras. According to a police spokeswoman this week, the policy was pending agreement with the police union.

[As Anchorage works toward equipping police with body cameras, questions about implementation and footage access remain]

Khalif Hassan, who said he wasn’t related to Bishar Hassan’s family, came for the rally from Minnesota. He said he knew Hassan’s family from a long time ago, and he came out to show solidarity with them.

“This was a tragedy, this was a horrible event,” Khalif Hassan said of losing Hassan.

Keenan Plate said at the rally that he knew Hassan, as well.

“I was glad to see that many people came out in support of his family and to show their support, and to use their voice to say what we saw on the camera was wrong,” Plate said. “And I think it was important how the speakers acknowledged that, and to maybe tell his family that what happened to their son and their brother was wrong, and I think it was important for the community to come out and show that.”