Anchorage officers cleared in the fatal shooting of a teenage girl armed with a knife

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The Anchorage police officer who fired his gun in last month’s deadly police shooting that left a teenage girl dead was cleared Monday by investigating prosecutors.

A review by the Office of Special Prosecutions said Officer Alexander Roman was “legally justified” in using deadly force when he pulled the trigger Aug. 13, killing 16-year-old Easter Leafa in a University Area apartment where her family lived.

Shortly after the decision came out, the Anchorage Police Department released body cam footage from the night of the shooting.

Leafa was holding a knife when officers showed up at the Greenbriar Apartments late on the night of Aug. 13 after her family called APD.

Leafa did not obey the officer’s commands to drop the knife, and after being hit by a “less lethal projectile” by police, began to approach them, prompting Roman to fire his gun.

APD said days after her death that Roman has been with the department since December 2017.

The death resulted in several prayer vigils and protests on police accountability.

Despite city and police policy governing the release of body-cam footage no more than 45 days after an officer-involved shooting, APD said Friday — the 45th day since the shooting — that it would be delaying the release of the footage in order to safeguard the integrity of the ongoing criminal investigation.

Body cam footage shows officers responding to a 911 call from the family. A sister of Leafa’s told the police dispatcher that her sister had the knife and was sitting outside on a balcony with a blanket.

Officers can be seen in the video walking into the apartment with guns in their arms, asking family members where Easter is and whether she is armed or not. Police ask family members to leave the room as they prepare to confront Easter on the balcony.

“Hey listen, we need some units in here to help with crowd control, we’re trying to deal with the family before we confront the suspect,” one officer can be heard saying to dispatch. “They’re refusing to go into their rooms.”

At one point, a family member asks the officers what they plan to do.

“Are you guys going to point that to her?” she asks.

“If she comes at us with a knife, yes,” one officer replies.

The conversation continues for multiple minutes between police and family members on how best to approach Leafa, with officers trying to clear the room before approaching the teen. The family members continue to insist that they stay with Leafa to quell the situation.

Although there were numerous instances prior to the shooting where family members spoke in Samoan, the OSP report does not specifically reference any kind of language barrier between the police and the Leafa family.

“We’re just trying to make sure that my sister’s okay,” a family member said.

“So are we,” an officer responds. “That’s our goal here.”

Eventually, the family is backed into a bedroom and the group of officers opens the balcony door. Easter can be seen sitting in a chair under a blanket.

“Go ahead and show me your hands. Show me open empty hands, it’s the Anchorage police,” one officer says. “If you do not comply, you could be injured.”

After about one minute of police talking to her, Leafa stands up and begins walking towards officers with a knife in her right hand.

Officers can be heard yelling, “Face away from me. Drop the knife!” before shots are fired.