Autopsy confirms woman was killed by officer’s gunfire during standoff at Anchorage home, police say

A woman found dead after a standoff at her East Anchorage home last month was shot and killed by a SWAT officer who fired during the encounter, police said on Monday.

The department had not previously said what caused the death of 58-year-old Lisa Fordyce-Blair on June 20.

An autopsy was completed last week, and on Monday police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said in an email that Fordyce-Blair died after she was struck in the upper body by police gunfire.

Police have said officers initially responded to Fordyce-Blair’s home on the 7400 block of East 20th Avenue because she had threatened a neighbor. Fordyce-Blair refused to come out of her house when officers arrived, prompting a SWAT response, they said.

Fordyce-Blair fired multiple shots from inside her home and Sgt. Jonathan Butler fired from outside into the structure, police said. She was dead when officers entered the house, according to police.

Fordyce-Blair is the fourth person to be shot by police in roughly five weeks. Two men died and another was wounded in three separate encounters.

The SWAT officers responding to Fordyce-Blair’s house were not wearing body cameras, officials said. The department has not outfitted the tactical team with cameras because they don’t fit properly on the bulkier uniforms.