VIDEO: Prosecutors Clear AK Officer in Fatal August Shooting
A Fairbanks (AK) Police Department sergeant's fatal shooting of a suspect last year has been deemed justified under Alaska law by state prosecutors, reports the Alaska Dispatch News.
Police held a press conference Friday morning to announce results of the state Office of Special Prosecutions' review of the Aug. 30 shooting, in which 28-year-old James Robert Richards was shot by Sgt. Gregory Foster.
In a letter to Fairbanks Police Chief Eric Jewkes, Assistant Attorney General Robert Henderson says criminal charges against Foster are "not appropriate" in the case.
During the body-camera video clip played Friday, Jewkes said officers instructed Richards a total of 55 times to put down his gun, lie down or otherwise reduce his threat level.