Names of troopers involved in Wasilla shooting released

WASILLA — Alaska State Troopers on Sunday identified the three troopers involved in a fatal shooting last week in Wasilla.

According to an online trooper dispatch posted Sunday, the two troopers who fired their weapons during a confrontation with Joshua Smith in the Meadow Brook subdivision were Sgt. Jacob Covey and Trooper Christopher Havens. Covey is a member of the B Detachment Mat-Su West Patrol and has been a trooper since 1998. Havens is also with the B Detachment Mat-Su West Patrol and has been with troopers since 2012.

A third trooper deployed a Tazer during the incident. That trooper was identified as Timothy Cronin, who works out of the B Detachment Palmer Patrol. Cronin has been a trooper since 2008.

Troopers and witnesses said one trooper arrived in the neighborhood on Thursday evening to deal with a reportedly agitated man in the street. A short time later, two other troopers arrived, at which point troopers say the situation escalated and Smith charged them with a knife. Troopers say the three troopers responded with their weapons.

Smith, 33, died Friday morning at an Anchorage hospital. He lived in a home about a half-block form the site of the shooting with his wife and daughter.

Other details of the incident have not been revealed to the public. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident, the results of which it will forward to the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals for review.