Police identify officer shot in East Anchorage

June 09, 2010

Police closed DeBarr between Beaver and Norman to investigate the shooting. (Mike Nederbrock/KTUU-DT)

by Jason Lamb, Rebecca Palsha
and Channel 2 News staff
Wednesday, June 9, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Neighbors in East Anchorage say they woke up Wednesday to gunshots and screams for help, as the Anchorage Police Department raced to help an officer they say was shot this morning.

Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker said patrol officer Jean Mills made a traffic stop around 3:15 a.m. When she walked up to the car she pulled over, the occupant fired multiple shots and fled the scene.

Police have confirmed that Mills, a 12-year veteran of the force, was shot at least twice near the corner of Beaver Place and DeBarr Road, with possible wounds to her arm and abdomen. Mills called in the shooting and police swarmed the area, and say she was talking when medics arrived.

"This happened about 3:15 this morning. Officer Mill saw a car that was suspicious in her mind and committed a traffic infraction. She stopped that vehicle in the vicinity of DeBarr and Beaver… Sometime during that encounter the driver produced a gun and fired multiple shots," said APD Chief Mark Mew.

"Other officers were in the area and immediately descended upon the scene here -- medics were close by and able to transport very shortly thereafter," Parker said.

According to Mew, Mills had just finished with surgery at the Mayor's press conference Wednesday afternoon. "She will recover," he said.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say how saddened and angered we are by this event. It's unacceptable," said Mayor Sullivan.

Wednesday's shooting is the second shooting of an Anchorage officer this year. Officer Jason Allen was shot multiple times on January 9.

No arrests have been made in connection to either shooting.

"We have leads in the Officer Allen shooting. We have many leads, some have been exhausted, others are still active. I can't comment further on that. The investigation is ongoing," said Mew.

Police say that DeBarr is closed between Beaver Place and Norman Street for investigation.

"I feel kind of helpless. I just hope they catch the person because that's just really bad and my heart goes out to her family," said Dorothy Hale, who lives in the area.

Police say they have found a red four-door Ford Taurus they believe was the car involved -- but the driver and any suspects were not found.

This is a developing story. Keep checking KTUU.com for more information.

Contact Jason Lamb at jlamb@ktuu.com, Rebecca Palsha at rpalsha@ktuu.com and Channel 2 News at news_desk@ktuu.com

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