Police in Alaska are under fire for shooting dead a 16-year-old girl. Officers in Anchorage opened fire on the girl after responding to a call about a domestic disturbance and finding her threatening her sister with a knife. Anchorage police chief Sean Case identified the girl as Easter Leafa, who moved to the state from American Somoa just a few months ago.
Mr. Case told reporters that the teenager charged at officers with a knife, and they did not open fire until she ignored several commands to put the weapon down. “One single officer fired multiple rounds,” he said.
The teenager’s family, however, told a different story. Her sister Rosalie Tialavea told journalists that officers only told Easter to put the knife down once and that they shot her in response to a “little tiny movement.”
The shooting is the sixth involving the Anchorage Police Department this year, with four resulting in fatalities. Chief Case explained that department policy encourages the use of less lethal weapons in the first instance but added that officers have discretion on when they use deadly force. “Each officer is making a determination to use the tool that they have with them based on the circumstances in front of them,” he said.
Nevertheless, the girl’s family insisted that the killing was unlawful and have demanded justice. Family members described her as a 16-year-old who was excited about starting a new life in America and was due to start a new school weeks after her death.
The fatal incident comes just weeks after Illinois officers made international headlines when an officer shot and killed 36-year-old Sonya Massey in her home. Bodycam video footage went viral online and showed Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson shooting Massey in the head as she held a pot of hot water in her kitchen. Grayson was arrested and charged with murder. After shooting Massey, the officer said he believed she was preparing to throw the hot water at him. He turned to his partner and asked, “What else do we do?”
