An Alaska State Trooper who fatally shot a man brandishing a harpoon at a popular Kenai Peninsula beach this summer will not face criminal charges for his use of force.
A state Office of Special Prosecutions review found that Trooper Gabriel Holmann was justified in shooting 67-year-old Kirk Medak at South Kasilof Beach in July. Medak threatened several groups at the popular dipnetting site with a sword and then later approached troopers with a 7-foot harpoon, according to a letter notifying troopers of the decision.
The 11-page review was written by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Shorey and sent to Col. Maurice Hughes, the director of the troopers, on Aug. 22. The Alaska Department of Law “inadvertently did not issue a press release” when the review was issued last month, Patty Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the department, said Thursday. The department provided a copy of the review this week.
The incident began around midnight July 8, when six people flagged down Trooper Josh Whitby while he was patrolling the beach and reported that a man had run from a campsite and threatened three teenagers with a sword, the review said. The adults said they confronted Medak and took his sword when he dropped it, the review said.
A 911 call that came in around the same time reported a man “running around with a sword and threatening to kill people,” the review said.
Whitby told dispatchers that he “was familiar with Medak” and knew it was him making the threats, according to the review. He told Holmann, who was on his way to the scene, that Medak is “extremely mentally unstable” and had previously threatened to shoot troopers, has multiple trespasses and was the respondent in a protective order, but otherwise did not have any active arrest warrants, the review said.
The troopers decided to approach Medak together and traveled in Holmann’s vehicle after Whitby’s vehicle got stuck in the sand, the review said. As they approached Medak’s camp, he ran out “brandishing a pointed pole that looked like a harpoon or a spear with a tattered flag at the end of it, poised in a position as if he were going to throw it,” according to the review.
Medak jabbed at the front and driver side windows with the harpoon, the review said. Holmann began to reverse the vehicle but got stuck in the sand and Medak continued approaching with his harpoon, the review said.
“At this point, Trooper Holmann drew his firearm and gave Medak multiple commands to back away from the vehicle,” the report said. Whitby and Holmann got out of the vehicle after Medak initially complied. There was a group of bystanders behind Medak, the review said.
“Medak came towards Trooper Holmann with the harpoon in hand, again poised as if he was about to throw it,” the review said. “Trooper Holmann fired his pistol three times as Medak got to the front quarter panel of the vehicle.”
The troopers performed chest compressions on Medak for about 20 minutes after he was shot, but medics ultimately declared him dead at the scene, the review said.
Troopers’ entire encounter with Medak lasted roughly 38 seconds before Holmann shot him, according to a description of body-camera footage and timestamps included in the review.
A witness told investigators during a later interview that “Medak looked like he was ready to ‘impale’ someone,” the review said. “He believed the trooper was a second or a second and a half from getting stabbed by Medak.”
The Alaska Bureau of Investigations secured search warrants for Medak’s campsite and truck and found several edged weapons, a bow and arrows, other items that had been fashioned into homemade weapons and letters and note cards with handwritten messages disparaging the court system, state employees and troopers, according to the review.
Holmann’s use of force was justified because he was defending himself and others in the area, the review said.
All police shootings in recent decades have been deemed justified by the Office of Special Prosecutions.
Alaska State Troopers have not yet released the body-camera footage of the shooting.
Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said they plan to release footage of the 2023 shooting of Michael Grimes before releasing this footage. The Office of Special Prosecutions determined in August that the officers who shot Grimes were justified in their use of force.
McDaniel said he did not have a timeline for when the footage would be released. The department also plans to release body-camera footage from an Alaska Wildlife Trooper who fatally shot a homeless Juneau man, he said. The Juneau Police Department, which was also involved in that shooting, released its footage on Tuesday after the Office of Special Prosecutions released its review.
The agency has to balance officer-involved shooting footage requests with other requests for public records, McDaniel said.
Six people, including Medak, have been shot and killed by law enforcement so far this year in Alaska, four by Anchorage police officers.