ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Authorities have released additional information about the shooting of a suspect who was killed by an Alaska State Trooper to end a 20-minute assault on another trooper.
Details in last weekend’s death of Nikolai Yakunin, 42, in the village of Nikolaevsk, were released on Tuesday.
The community of 311 is east of Anchor Point and north of Homer near the south end of the Kenai Peninsula.
The name of the officer involved in the shooting, Sgt. Daniel Cox, a 20-year Department of Public Safety veteran, was not released until Tuesday, which is in accordance with agency policy.
The department said Yakunin on Saturday afternoon had contacted a woman in violation of felony probation conditions. Trooper Luke Kumfer responded and at 7 p.m. reached a home in Nikolaevsk.
Authorities said Yakunin refused to cooperate and “become extremely threatening” toward the officer. Kumfer used his radio to call for assistance, fired his stun gun at Yakunin and followed that with pepper spray.
Troopers said Yakunin knocked Kumfer off the home’s porch, injuring the officer. Yakunin then assaulted the injured trooper lying on the ground for about 20 minutes, troopers said. They did not indicate how they knew the assault lasted 20 minutes.
The release from troopers made no mention of possible weapons Yakunin used or whether other people were at the home.
When Cox arrived at the home he shot Yakunin, troopers said. Yakunin was pronounced dead at the scene.
Troopers released no information about any conversation between Cox and Yakunin before the shooting, or whether Kumfer lost consciousness during the assault.
Kumfer by Tuesday night had been released from hospital care but was still recovering from injuries.
“For his privacy, we are not releasing details of his injuries,” said trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters by email.
The state medical examiner conducted an autopsy on Yakunin’s body, Peters said, but it could take up to two months to receive results.
Peters said troopers routinely respond to incidents alone. Asked if Yakunin’s history of violence should have prompted more troopers to respond initially, Peters said that if there was a perceived risk, the situation is reviewed to determine an appropriate way to respond.
Troopers have refused to answer other questions about the incident, citing an ongoing department investigation, including whether troopers were wearing body cameras.
The Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals investigates whether deadly force is justified by officers. The Department of Public Safety reviews the case to determine if an officer using deadly force followed department policy.
Nikolaevsk, according to the state community data base, was founded as a community of Russian Old Believers whose ancestors settled in Woodburn, Oregon, after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 forced them out of Russia.
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