By Jerzy Shedlock
Alaska Dispatch News
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Alaska State Troopers say a man wanted on warrants tried to elude law enforcement near Fairbanks Thursday, and the pursuit ended in gunfire that killed the suspect.
At 3:14 p.m. Thursday, troopers in Fairbanks spotted a person they said had “known warrants” and tried to pull the vehicle over.
AST Lt. Brian Wassmann said during a press conference in Fairbanks streamed live on Facebook that troopers saw the man driving a white truck in the area of Easy Street and Old Richardson Highway.
https://www.facebook.com/177343678661/videos/10156157874268662/
Troopers tried to pull the man over but he did not stop, prompting a pursuit down the highway toward North Pole, Wassmann said. The chase continued on the highway to Badger Road, where the suspect turned around and started driving toward Fairbanks, he said.
“Witnesses reported to the troopers that the suspect fired a gun at pursuing troopers during the pursuit,” Wassmann said. The lieutenant did not specify when the shots were fired.
Fairbanks police responded to assist the troopers, and they deployed spike strips on the highway that deflated the fleeing truck’s tires, Wassmann said.
The truck continued driving to the on-ramp to the Mitchell Expressway, where he encountered Fairbanks police and troopers, according to the lieutenant.
“The suspect then proceeded to ram an occupied Fairbanks Police Department vehicle and an Alaska State Trooper vehicle. Fairbanks police officers then discharged their weapons, hitting the suspect and injuring him,” Wassmann said.
Officers at the scene immediately provided medical aid to the man before he was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. He died a short time later, troopers said.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation responded to the scene and is handling the investigation. The names of the Fairbanks officers who fired their weapons will be withheld for three days.
The on-ramp from northbound Richardson Highway to Mitchell and southbound Mitchell was closed for several hours due to on-scene investigation.
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©2017 the Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage, Alaska)