State prosecutors find Anchorage police officers’ May fatal shooting of armed man to be justified

Three Anchorage police officers involved in the fatal shooting of an armed man in East Anchorage earlier this year will not face criminal charges after state prosecutors found the shooting to be justified. The Alaska Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions said in a Sept. 3 letter to the Anchorage Police Department that the three officers who shot and killed 33-year-old Emil McCord on May 19 during a brief encounter reasonably believed the man “posed an unlawful threat” of harm to themselves or the public after the man aimed a handgun he was carrying at the officers. The Office of Special Prosecutions typically reviews police shootings to determine whether officers involved should face criminal charges. Anchorage police and prosecutors announced the decision Tuesday.

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