Alaska State Troopers have identified the man shot and killed by a trooper during a confrontation late Saturday as 49-year-old Jon Ployhar of Sterling.
Troopers said that at about 11:20 p.m. Saturday, a trooper attempted to pull over a driver, later identified as Ployhar, near Mile 82 of the Sterling Highway on the Kenai Peninsula, near the Izaak Walton State Recreation Site.
The trooper contacted Ployhar after a short pursuit. Ployhar "engaged the trooper in a physical altercation," according to an online dispatch posted Sunday. At some point, the trooper drew and fired his weapon, killing Ployhar, troopers said.
Megan Peters, troopers spokeswoman, said in an email Monday that the altercation happened off of Moose River Drive in Sterling, a short distance from the Sterling Highway.
The trooper suffered injuries to his face that were "not life threatening but will require follow up treatment," Peters said. Ployhar's body was sent to the State Medical Examiner Office in Anchorage for an autopsy, troopers said.
Peters did not provide additional details on the altercation or the traffic stop Monday. "There is not a lot of information we can add as it is an ongoing investigation," she said.