Anchorage police have named the officer who fired his weapon during an attempted traffic stop in the early-morning hours Sunday as Keo Fujimoto, a six-year veteran of the force. Fujimoto and other officers were responding to a report of a person in a Dodge Charger brandishing a gun near the Gaslight Lounge in downtown Anchorage shortly after 3 a.m. When officers attempted to block the vehicle in on Fifth Avenue, police said that the 34-year-old driver of the vehicle, Lusia Pedro, rammed a police car and moved it several feet. That was when Fujimoto fired his weapon, according to police.
Pedro allegedly drove away from the scene, and police were able to set up spike strips, which damaged the tires of the vehicle. Pedro continued driving before being stopped on Minnesota Drive several miles south. Pedro reportedly attempted to flee on foot before being apprehended by a K-9 officer and his dog. There were two passengers in the vehicle with Pedro who were taken to police headquarters for questioning, and police said that all three occupants of the vehicle were treated for minor injuries.
Pedro was arraigned on charges of eluding, assault and weapons misconduct, and also had an outstanding warrant for violating probation. He is being held in Anchorage jail with bail set at $100,000.
The Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals was investigating the incident, police said. The same office is investigating another recent officer-involved shooting that killed Carl Richard Bowie III earlier this month. In that incident, two officers -- both members of the Anchorage Police Department for more than a decade -- fired a total of seven shots, three of which hit Bowie, after he allegedly rammed a police vehicle with a stolen pick-up truck.