A local police officer in Sand Point shot a man suspected of drug trafficking aboard a fishing boat on Monday, according to the Alaska State Troopers.
Troopers say local officers were watching the boat, which had been seized as part of a trooper-led investigation. They saw its captain board it Monday afternoon and attempt to flee. An unspecified number of officers boarded the boat.
Troopers say a local officer shot and wounded the man after he “produced” a hatchet. He was medevaced to Anchorage. Troopers say his condition is stable.
Troopers did not identify the officer, the captain or the vessel by name but did confirm the captain was a local Sand Point resident.
A video circulating on Facebook shows the boat accelerating in the harbor, running up against a retaining wall, and then hitting two other boats.. A Sand Point resident who saw the event from his boat said the captain rammed the 58-foot boat into the dock before a local police officer boarded the vessel.
The shooting happened as Sand Point’s community Silver Salmon Derby was taking place at the harbor, a popular event that brings out most of the town.
Rayette McGlashan helps run the derby. She said many families with children were at the event when the shooting happened.
“The silver salmon derby is an activity that our whole community, children and families participate in,” she said. “It was probably 30% of the children in the community.”
Officers say they found roughly $970,000 worth of methamphetamine and heroin on the fishing boat. This follows a series of arrests related to drugs and drug trafficking in Sand Point in recent years.
Alaska State Troopers communications Director Austin McDaniel said they had not determined if the incident was related to previous drug cases.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting.
