State clears officers who fatally shot man outside West Anchorage apartment of any criminal charges

A state review released Wednesday found that four Anchorage police officers who fired at a 34-year-old man outside his West Anchorage apartment building in May, killing him, were justified in their use of force.

Kristopher Handy was the first person to be shot by Anchorage police since they began wearing cameras in March. Officers have since shot four other people, killing two and wounding two others.

Surveillance footage of the Handy shooting that circulated online in the aftermath raised questions about the department’s initial accounts saying Handy “raised a long gun” at officers before he was shot. The department has faced mounting public pressure to release body-camera footage.

The state’s review found that Handy was not seen pointing the weapon directly at officers at any time. But, it said, other aspects of the encounter made it “objectively reasonable” for each man to think Handy was “about to immediately cause harm” to them or other officers” and fire their weapons.

The review of each person’s actions lists factors including Handy’s “aggressive manner” as he descended stairs from the apartment, profanity he shouted during the encounter, and his decision to ignore instructions to raise his hands and drop his weapon.

Chief Sean Case said during a briefing Wednesday morning that footage of Handy’s shooting will be released Wednesday afternoon.

Case received a letter on Friday from the state Office of Special Prosecutions that determined Sgt. Noel Senoran and officers Jason Stineman, Jacob Ostolaza and Jacob Jones will not face criminal charges in the shooting. The 21-page letter details the investigation, including interviews with officers and witnesses, video footage, an examination of weapons and the medical examiner’s report.

A neighbor who lived next to Handy in the apartment building on the 7100 block of Bearfoot Drive told police Handy and his fiancee, Harmony Stitt, had been arguing, the review said. Stitt asked her neighbor to call for help around 2 a.m. and the neighbor told 911 dispatchers there was a disturbance, it said.

She called again and reported Handy was walking outside with a rifle or baseball bat outside and that she may have heard a gunshot inside the apartment, the review said.

When police arrived, they commanded Handy to come outside. He walked out with a pistol-gripped short-barreled shotgun, raised it in the air above his head briefly, then continued walking toward the officers, the review said.

After the shooting, police initially said they believed Handy “pointed his shotgun at the officers on scene,” the review said. One of the responding officers reported he believed Handy started to raise the gun shortly before four officers fired at him, but the review said “from the video footage accessible to OSP, Handy is not seen directly pointing the shotgun at the officers.”

The autopsy found Handy had 10 gunshot wounds and three other injuries consistent with bullet grazes, according to the review.

Stitt had told officers after the shooting that Handy was depressed and may have mixed his depression medication with alcohol, according to the review. An autopsy found that his blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit to drive a vehicle in Alaska and an antidepressant medication was also found in his system.

This is a developing story and will be updated.