Trooper, unarmed victim struck by officer fire during fatal Fairbanks shooting
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) - An Alaska State Trooper and an unarmed female passenger were injured by gunfire when three troopers and two Fairbanks police officers fired their weapons on 57-year-old Amos Lane of Anchorage after a Monday morning pursuit in Fairbanks, which resulted in the death of Lane.
In an updated dispatch, troopers reported that Lane did not fire his weapon, even after pointing it at the woman. Troopers said that five law enforcement officers fired on Lane, ultimately killing him and injuring one of the troopers and the woman. Their injuries were non-life-threatening.
The troopers were identified as three-year veteran Alex Valdez and one-year veterans Cody Kasper and Joshua Schoeffel as well, as well as 14-year veteran with Fairbanks police Sgt. Dennis Benn and five-year Fairbanks police veteran Lane Bonham. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is continuing to investigate the shooting.
“Their preliminary investigation revealed that the injuries to the adult female passenger and the Alaska State Trooper resulted from gunfire from law enforcement and that the driver did not discharge his firearm during the incident,” troopers wrote.
Troopers attempted a traffic stop at 2:55 a.m. on June 19, which officers determined became unsafe after attempting to chase Lane, leading to the chase being called off.
On June 20 at 9 a.m., troopers again attempted to stop the same Ford sedan, resulting in a second pursuit. According to troopers, Lane was driving the car.
“Law enforcement then blocked the vehicle, preventing it from continuing to flee,” troopers wrote in the initial dispatch. “The driver, an adult male, then produced a handgun and then pointed the handgun at a female passenger that was also in the vehicle. The driver failed to follow the commands of law enforcement officers on the scene, and due to his actions, multiple law enforcement officers from the Alaska State Troopers and Fairbanks Police Department fired their duty weapons at the driver, fatally wounding him.”
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