A Bethel police officer shot a man on March 25 who authorities said approached the officer brandishing a knife early in the morning.
The man was medevaced to Anchorage to receive treatment for “serious injuries.” State officials declined to clarify how many times the man was shot, citing an open investigation. Neither the police officer who fired the gun nor the man had been named as of the evening of March 25.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigations is investigating the shooting. It said that Bethel police had already had contact with the man that day — officers had found the man standing in a roadway and taken him to the hospital in the hours leading up to the shooting.
After the man was released from the hospital, state investigators said that he was found standing in the road again. They allege the man approached an officer armed with a knife and was shot after he refused orders to drop it.
Police temporarily closed off a section of Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway on the morning of March 25 to investigate. It was reopened around 10 a.m.
This is a developing story and may be updated with additional information.
