Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - An officer involved shooting was reported early Christmas morning in Wasilla.
According to a dispatch from Alaska State Troopers, a call reporting a domestic disturbance was reported three minutes after midnight.
The dispatch relays that the caller stated her boyfriend, 35-year-old Joseph Frantz of Palmer was going to kill her. Frantz was heard in the background saying he was going to kill her and a shot was heard.
Troopers and members of the Wasilla and Palmer Police Departments responded.
Two officers, including a Trooper, fired their weapons after responding. The Trooper is identified as Caleb Lloyd, a three-year veteran. The other officer is with Wasilla Police and is identified as Nate Lecours who has five years of law enforcement experience including three years in Wasilla.
Palmer Suspect Ambushes Troopers, Police during Christmas Domestic Disturbance Call
Alaska State Troopers, on Monday released the names of the trooper and Wasilla Police Department officer involved in the Christmas Day officer-involved shooting that injured a Palmer suspect who opened fire on them during a response to a shots-fired call at just after midnight.
The identities of the two enforcement personnel were revealed as Trooper Caleb Lloyd and WPD officer Nate Lecours. Both are three-year veterans in their respective agencies.
MATCOM received a call from a female caller at 12:23 am on December 25th reporting a domestic disturbance. The caller soon stopped communicating with the dispatcher but left the line open. Soon, the suspect, identified as 35-year-old Joseph Frantz, was heard in the background saying he was going to kill the caller as a shot rang out.
A shooting deeply impacts not only the individual who was shot, but the whole community. Bethel Police Chief Richard Simmons said that when shootings happen, people should remember the officers, who are also human and are affected by these tragedies.
“I ve got a police department right now that their hearts hurt. You know, because this affects us deeply,” Simmons said.
Besides the hit to the department’s morale, a police shooting can increase the burden of work on the other officers who weren’t involved. Because of the two separate shooting events, Simmons placed four officers on administrative leave to allow them time to emotionally process those events.
Credit Bethel Police Department
The investigations into the two shootings by Bethel police from earlier this month are ongoing. Bethel Police Chief Richard Simmons said that the two incidents are unrelated.
“There were completely different personnel on at the time from two different rotations, the persons involved are unrelated, and there was no similarity in how the cases evolved,” Simmons wrote in an email to KYUK. “Bethel’s officers handle weekly violence with weapons calls and felonious assaults, and the potential for things to become very dangerous on calls is real.”
The names of the officers and men who were shot have not been released. Neither have the charges against the suspects.
Bethel Police Officer Shoots Person Who Threatened Them With A Knife, According To Troopers kyuk.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kyuk.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.