A man shot and killed by police Wednesday in a Midtown hostage standoff was carrying an air pistol manufactured to look like a popular semi-automatic handgun, a police spokesman said Saturday.
Joseph Gannon, 48, threatened to shoot police and aimed the pistol at three officers who opened fire on him in the doorway of a LaTouche Street apartment, police said.
"They believed it was a deadly weapon and that their lives were in danger -- as well as the lives of anyone around there," said Lt. Dave Parker, a department spokesman.
The state Attorney General's office has concluded that the use of deadly force was justified, and police Saturday identified the officers involved in the shooting as Sgt. Glen Daily, officer Darrell Evans and officer Keo Fujimoto.
The encounter follows another fatal police shooting March 1 in West Anchorage. In that incident, a 45-year-old man, after barricading himself in a Turnagain apartment, approached officers with a shotgun and refused to drop the weapon, police said at the time.
During Wednesday's standoff, Gannon showed police a black pistol that looked be a Colt Model 1911 semi-automatic handgun, according to a department news release. Instead, it turned out to be a brand of .177-caliber air pistol manufactured to strongly resemble a real Colt 1911 handgun, police said.
Parker said that when he first saw photos of the air pistol he mistook it for the Colt model sometimes used by SWAT members.
"This is actually a BB gun, and it must be some sort of European manufacturer," he said. Rather than an orange-tipped toy, the gun appeared to be a full-sized replica and is considered a firearm under state law, Parker said.
Replica air pistols can cost hundreds of dollars and are popular in target shooting because they mimic the feel of higher-caliber handguns, said Brad Heffele, owner of Gun Traders in East Anchorage.
"Same weight, same size, same appearance," Heffele said.
During the standoff, Gannon told police during negotiations that he had a gun and repeatedly threatened to shoot through the door and window of an apartment he occupied with his mother, police say. Gannon held the pistol to the window to show he was armed -- refusing to surrender and refusing to let his mother leave, police say.
Police say Gannon indicated he wanted to die and talked about his mother dying as well. "He made it very clear ... he did not want to go on living," Parker said.
The encounter began early Wednesday near LaTouche and 32nd Avenue. Gannon had called 911 to report his mother wasn't breathing, Parker said.
The police spokesman said he doesn't know why Gannon made the call. Police arrived and Daily negotiated with Gannon for nearly an hour, Parker said.
Gannon hung up on police again and again, Parker said. When he emerged from the apartment, he pointed the pistol at police, according to the news release.
The police officers, who stood a few feet away, opened fire. Gannon was declared dead at the scene. His mother was not injured.
At the time, the only person who knew Gannon's gun wasn't a full-caliber pistol was Gannon himself, Parker said.
"He knew, after making the threats that he made and walking out of the apartment and pointing that gun at police, that it would give them no choice but to fire on him," he said.
Parker said he doesn't know how many times Gannon was struck. Upstairs neighbor William Eaton counted five shells after the shooting and said at least two of the officers had carried shotguns.
No one answered the door at the apartment Saturday. The building is just south of Benson Boulevard, and Gannon lived on the ground floor at the bottom of a half-dozen wooden steps. Fake plastic grass carpeted the entryway, and white splotches of what looked like fresh plaster dotted the wall where Gannon had been shot.
Family members packed pictures and clothing at the apartment the day before, and his mother has moved out, said Eaton.
Each officer gave independent statements to investigators, and the department's homicide unit has finished its investigation while awaiting a final autopsy report from the state medical examiner's office, police said.
Meantime, the state Office of Special Prosecutions in the Attorney General's Office concluded the shooting was justified under Alaska law "considering the threat posed to the officers or others by Joseph Gannon's actions," the news release says.
The department's internal affairs division will now determine if the shooting complies with the Anchorage Police Department policies and procedures, police said.
By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins@adn.com