Review of police practices doesn't contradict support for our police

A young man shoplifts an axe and hatchet from a box store, is reported and soon cornered by police. He drops the axe and runs towards the police waving his hatchet and is shot dead by two officers. We will wait until the close of the formal investigation by police and state authorities before making any final judgment, but on the face of it, the police action appears to be justifiable homicide, assuming the second lethal shot was not fired after the assailant faltered from the first.

A hatchet is a lethal weapon and the police involved had every reason to think they were at risk of grievous bodily harm. End story on police misconduct. Given the spate of deliberate lethal attacks on police elsewhere in the country, it is easy to see officers might be especially apprehensive and public sympathy including that of this writer would strongly lie with them.

[SHOOTING: Robbery suspect dies after being shot by police in East Anchorage.]

Early reports on background, and the specific circumstances strongly suggest the dead youth was mentally ill and had spoken of suicide. Running at a cop with a gun in his hand with a hatchet — are you kidding?  "Suicide by cop" — not an uncommon method of ending it all according to national statistics.

But was this death necessary? Wilderness hikers, conscious of the risk of grievous bodily harm from a charging bear, commonly carry guns and also carry bear spray or find bear spray alone sufficient. If you have tested a strong bear spray you will have little doubt that a continuous splash of spray in the face of a charging individual carrying a knife or hatchet will render that person incapable of completing a serious attack.

Under riot conditions, Israeli police use rubber bullets to turn back Palestinian youth bent on charging police lines with rocks or other rough weapons. Then there are the popular stun-guns sold to American police agencies on a standard basis. The Japanese have picked up on a technique as old as the gladiator arenas of ancient Rome, using a net ejected onto opponents, fundamentally restricting their movements for an arrest.

Retreat, let the thief pass through and follow him until he gives up, trapped in a place where he can be talked down. Maybe he is a monster posing a general threat to the public or maybe he is he a shoplifter gone crazy. A fertile imagination, fed by fantasy movies, can come up with many other ways of dealing with a guy charging with a recently stolen hatchet, many of which are not realistic. Second guessing is appropriate as speculation but not for considered judgment.

Without a detailed exploration of circumstances, still to come, we don't know if there were plausible alternatives. The point to be made is police culpability is not the main question. Shooting a man dead who is charging you with a hatchet is justifiable homicide. On the other hand, a thorough review of police training and police response practices is a legitimate, maybe a pressing subject for review.

While the numbers or too small for a fully reliable statistical comparison, Alaska, for its population, has a fairly high death rate from police shootings. Years ago, New York City responding to a spate of criticism of its death rate, commissioned a complete review of standard practices. A substantial revision of police training and practice formats was followed by a statistically significant reduction in police caused deaths.

A more recent national review of police practices resulted in a reduction of the practice of high speed vehicle chases. Picking up the driver through downstream communications worked just about as well and greatly reduced deaths, particularly of incidental traffic victims.

There is every reason for relief that no police were injured in this recent altercation but there are good reasons to make sure that our police employment screening, training and instruction meet best standards.

John Havelock is a former state attorney general and served as the founding director of the University of Alaska's Justice program before his retirement.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com or click here to submit via any web browser.