Anchorage Daily News

Police shot and wounded a man after he rammed a police cruiser and led them on a short chase through Mountain View early Wednesday.

Andrew C. Moore, 49, was shot in the arm during the altercation that took place in Mountain View just after midnight. Police characterized the pursuit as a "low-speed" chase that spanned less than a mile.

"He was going quite slowly and then he only made it a couple of blocks," Lt. Dave Parker said. "The whole thing took four minutes before they were calling for an ambulance." Police described the wound as non-life-threatening.

According to police, an officer tried to pull over a blue 1990 Ford van near Reeve and Commercial drives at about 12:20 p.m. but the driver refused to stop. The van then stopped on a dead-end street near Fourth Avenue and Reeve, and police tried to block the vehicle in place with their cruisers, Parker said.

Moore, however, rammed one of them with the van and led police on a chase east on the Glenn Highway until the vehicle left the road while turning north onto Mountain View Drive, Parker said.

Again, the van stopped for a moment, Parker said. An officer, who was not immediately named, approached the van and Moore once again tried to pull away. It was not immediately clear where the officer was in relation to the van or if there was any verbal exchange between him and Moore.

"I know that the officer had approached the vehicle and it was at that time he perceived the threat," Parker said.

Other officers were at the scene at that point but only one fired, Parker said. Police procedures would have called for the officer to have his weapon drawn in approaching the driver because of his conduct to that point, he said.

Though wounded, Moore got the van back on the road and continued north on Mountain View, Parker said. A police car then pinned the van at Porcupine Drive, and Moore was taken into custody.

Moore was taken to a hospital to be treated for his injury and remained there Wednesday afternoon. He had not yet been charged with a crime.

It was unclear why Moore refused to stop. Parker said Moore did not appear to be wanted, but whether he was driving under the influence or committing another crime when the initial contact took place remained under investigation.

The involved officer was placed on administrative leave for three days, and his name will not be released for that time under department policy. The shooting will be reviewed internally and by the district attorney.

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