Anchorage police officer shot during traffic stop

Published 8:55 am Wednesday, June 9, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An Anchorage police officer was shot multiple times and gravely wounded during a traffic stop early today, and authorities say they’re “blanketing the town” looking for the suspect.

Lt. Dave Parker said the officer, whose name has not been released, is undergoing surgery at Alaska Regional Hospital and her family is with her. Her injuries include wounds to an arm and her abdomen.

Parker said she has been on the force at least 13 years and is an excellent and well-respected officer. He said she was able to radio for help and talk to officers at the scene and hospital.

The shooting occurred during a routine traffic stop at 3:15 a.m. on the east side of Anchorage at DeBarr Road and Beaver Place, Parker said. Shots were fired from the car as the officer approached. The car took off and was later found abandoned a couple of miles away.

More than three dozen officers, including a SWAT team, are “blanketing the town,” looking for whoever fired the shots, Parker said.

This is the second time this year a police officer has been shot in Anchorage.

Officer Jason Allen was shot early Jan. 9 when a car pulled up next to his vehicle in a residential neighborhood and a passenger fired. The 47-year-old officer was hit multiple times in his arms and torso. Parker says Allen is still on the mend and police are still looking for the shooter.

Parker said there’s no indication the shootings are related, but that’s a matter for investigators. Officers aren’t saying whether the shots fired today came from the driver or a passenger.

The January shooting was similar to the Halloween shooting in Seattle when an officer from Marysville was killed by shots fired from a car that pulled alongside. A suspect in that shooting is awaiting trial in Seattle.