Anchorage police delay release of body camera footage from fatal shooting of 16-year-old girl

Anchorage police said Friday that they are delaying the release of body camera footage recorded during last month’s fatal shooting of a 16-year-old girl who they say was holding a knife.

Officer Alexander Roman fatally shot Easter Leafa at the apartment she lived in with her family on Aug. 13 while responding to a call about a domestic dispute. Another officer fired a less-lethal projectile at Leafa, Chief Sean Case has said.

The shooting prompted community anguish and alarm and increased scrutiny of the police department. Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Anchorage in the days after her death to march for justice and pray for her life.

The police department’s policy calls for body-camera footage of police shootings to be released 45 days afterward, or requires officials to provide an explanation for any delay. Friday marked 45 days since Leafa died.

In a statement, the police department said that the delay comes at the request of the Alaska Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions. That office determines if the involved officer will face criminal charges tied to the shooting.

The Office of Special Prosecutions sent a letter to Case on Tuesday requesting a delay in the footage release if their investigation took longer than the 45 days stated in the police department’s policy, the statement said. Officials from the law department have long requested that agencies withhold footage until the Office of Special Prosecutions’ reviews are complete, or until after any criminal proceedings have finished, because they believe releasing it could harm the integrity of the investigation or interfere with potential jury pools.

The review into Leafa’s shooting was not finished by Friday, Department of Law spokesman Sam Curtis said.

“Under Department of Law policy, (Office of Special Prosecutions) strives to finish the review of (officer-involved shooting) cases within 60 days from the date of the incident,” he wrote in an email. “(Office of Special Prosecutions) is working to get the review in this case done before that date, but we are still finalizing the review.”

Leafa is the fourth person since mid-May to die after being shot by Anchorage police. In total, seven people have been shot by Anchorage police officers during that time frame.

[An overview of Anchorage police shootings in 2024]

Family members have told Alaska’s News Source that Leafa moved to Anchorage in recent months from American Samoa with hopes of a better education. She would have started her junior year of high school the same week that she died.

In the days after her death, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and Case announced a series of reforms aimed at addressing police shootings. An outside investigator will examine Leafa’s shooting instead of the department’s usual internal investigation, they said.

[Samoan community group signs ‘resolution of understanding’ with Anchorage city leaders]