Troopers ID'd in fatal shooting of Wasilla man after Parks Highway chase

The two Alaska state troopers who shot and killed a Wasilla man during a Parks Highway chase Sunday, in which the man fatally shot one trooper's police dog, have been identified.

Patrol Troopers Christopher Havens and Jason Somerville, with the force since February 2012 and August 2015 respectively, fired on 36-year-old Justin Quincy Smith shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday. The shooting took place moments after Smith shot and killed K-9 Rico.

"Trooper Havens was K-9 Rico's handler," troopers wrote in a dispatch. "Trooper Havens and K-9 Rico had worked together since October 2016. K-9 Rico was a 3-year-old Dutch shepherd."

Rico's death is the second ever among trooper K-9s, following the Sept. 25 death of K-9 Helo in a shooting during a Palmer traffic stop. Havens was also Helo's handler, working with the Belgian Malinois since March 2014.

Troopers previously said that Smith, wanted on warrants for assault and a probation violation, was at the wheel of a Subaru Legacy sedan that committed a moving violation near East Bogard Road and Helen Lane at about 2:50 a.m. Sunday. That led to a 45-minute chase, which didn't end until troopers deployed spike strips near Mile 45.5 of the Parks Highway.

When Smith got out of the car, didn't obey troopers' commands and tried to flee, Rico was deployed. Smith shot the dog, troopers said, and was in turn shot by Havens and Somerville.

Smith was taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, where he died. His death was the second from a trooper-involved shooting this year. Jean Valescot, 35, was shot during a February standoff when he came to the door of his Big Lake home carrying his young son and two guns, troopers said.

K-9 policies

Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said Wednesday neither of the K-9s killed by suspects was wearing a bulletproof canine vest.

"(Rico) was one of our newer canines and did not yet have one," Peters wrote. "Our K-9s typically wear the vests in situations where it is known ahead of time that it is a high-risk situation and not during their regular patrol duties."

Peters said trooper K-9s typically receive vests through Vested Interest, a non-profit group that uses donations to buy the safety equipment for K-9s nationwide.

Asked if troopers plan any changes to their K-9 policy in response to Sunday's shooting, Peters said any such determination was pending a full review of the incident by the state Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals.

"AST will further review the case internally, essentially to see if there were potential policy issues, officer safety issues or 'lessons learned,' " Peters wrote. "Being so close to the incident, we cannot jump to any conclusions."

Peters said at least two K-9s used for patrol work and scent detection, Blazer and Skippy, remain in service with Mat-Su troopers.

Note: The headline on this article has been edited to reflect that the chase took place on the Parks Highway, not the Glenn.