Alaska News

Officer in Fairview shooting identified as 10-year veteran

Anchorage police on Thursday identified the officer who shot and killed a blade-wielding man in Fairview as Senior Patrol Officer Christopher Simmons.

Simmons shot Kenneth John, 26, during a traffic stop 6:30 p.m. Monday near 12th Avenue and Hyder Street, according to police. Police say John approached Simmons while holding a "bladed weapon" in each hand.

Police have refused to offer a more detailed description of the weapons, citing the pending investigation. John was the third person killed by city police this year and the cousin of 27-year-old Detlef Wulf, who was shot and killed by officers April 5. The two shootings occurred just two blocks away.

Simmons, a 10-year veteran with the department, was placed on a 72-hour administrative leave following the shooting and was eligible to return to work at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, said police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro.

The shooting is under review by the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals. That office found the shooting of Detlef Wulf by officers Michael Farr and Christopher Alexander to be legally justified earlier this month.

Twitter updates: twitter.com/adn_kylehopkins. Call Kyle Hopkins at 257-4334 or email him at khopkins@adn.com.

By KYLE HOPKINS

khopkins@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins is special projects editor of the Anchorage Daily News. He was the lead reporter on the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Lawless" project and is part of an ongoing collaboration between the ADN and ProPublica's Local Reporting Network. He joined the ADN in 2004 and was also an editor and investigative reporter at KTUU-TV. Email khopkins@adn.com

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