Last updated at 8:25 p.m. Friday, June 3
Alaska State Troopers shot a Valley man multiple times after he charged at them with a knife, the agency said. Joshua Smith, 33, died hours later in an Anchorage hospital.
Troopers came in contact with Smith Thursday evening while responding to a report of a disturbance off of Hyer Road, according to an online dispatch. He was allegedly wielding a knife and charged at troopers during the encounter.
“Two troopers fired their service weapons while one trooper attempted to utilize a Taser,” troopers wrote.
A neighbor, 15-year-old Sydney Arbeit, watched the scene unfold from a window. She said she watched Smith talking calmly with the troopers for several minutes when he suddenly pulled out a knife.
“It was calm. He didn’t seem like he was going to do anything,” Arbeit explained. “He pulled out a knife and at first he looked like he was holding it up to his throat, but then he lunged at the officers and then they started shooting at him.”
Arbeit said troopers ordered Smith to drop the knife several times, but he refused.
Smith was flown via LifeMed helicopter to Providence Alaska Medical Center just before 4 a.m. Friday, according to troopers. His family was with him at the hospital, troopers said.
Neighbors said Smith lived in the area.
No officers were injured during the altercation with Smith. The two who fired at Smith will be on administrative leave for 72 hours per department policy, troopers wrote. Their names have not been released.
The dispatch stated the Alaska Bureau of Investigation has assumed responsibility of the case and is investigating the cause and circumstances of the incident.
The State Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy.
KTVA 11’s Lauren Maxwell contributed to this report.
