Police: Standoff led to man being shot

September 23, 2005

MARY AMES/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A Palmer taxidermist was recovering at Valley Hospital on Thursday after a Palmer police officer shot him in the abdomen while trying to serve warrants at his home the day before.

Palmer police and Alaska State Troopers went to the South Gulkana Street home of Shawn McCrary, 42, at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday to serve a search warrant and an arrest warrant for violation of a domestic-violence restrain-ing order, according to a press release issued by Palmer police.

McCrary, 42, was there when two officers went to the front door and three to the back, according to Palmer Police Chief George Boatright, who said police and troopers had been trying to serve the warrants since Sept. 15.

McCrary, who was reportedly armed with a handgun, refused to comply and threatened to commit suicide. The situation remained in a standoff for about 30 minutes, with officers and a negotiator trying to defuse the situation, when McCrary made a threatening movement with his handgun, according to the report.

A Palmer police officer fired his handgun and hit McCrary, according to the release.

Police took the gun from McCrary and transported him to Valley Hospital, where a hospital spokesperson said he was good condition Thursday evening.

Because troopers and Palmer police were on the scene at the time of the shooting, the Anchorage Police Department was asked to investigate the shooting.

Boatright would not answer several questions until the investigation is finished and the Anchorage district attorney's office has reviewed it. He said he hopes it will be resolved by the middle of next week.

Until then, he said, the only information he said he could release was that McCrary was hit in the center mass of the body and that Palmer police officers use .40- and .45-caliber weapons.

Court records show three open criminal cases pending against McCrary, including charges for driving with a suspended, canceled or revoked license, a domestic-violence restraining order and a violation of that order.

A search of court records shows McCrary's record of charges extends back to 1988 and includes domestic violence, assaults, violation of restraining orders, misconduct involving a controlled substance and impersonating a public servant.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.