Shots fired, chief mum

Name of officer who shot man still not released

October 23, 2005

MARY AMES/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - More than a month after a Palmer man was shot in his home by law enforcement personnel serving a warrant, no detailed information has been released by the Palmer Police Department about the incident.

According to a prepared statement issued by Palmer police last month, Palmer police and Alaska State Troopers went to the South Gulkana Street home of taxidermist Shawn McCrary, 42, at about 10:30 a.m. Sept. 21 to serve a search warrant and an arrest warrant for violation of a domestic-violence restraining order.

McCrary 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, a Palmer police officer fired his handgun, injuring McCrary, according to the release.

The indictment against McCrary lists Palmer Police Chief George Boatright as one of the five law enforcement personnel on the scene that day. Joining him were Sgt. Lance Ketterling and officers James Gipson and Philip Krauss, all Palmer police personnel, and trooper Sgt. Bob Cox.

Because one of the officers on scene was an Alaska State Trooper, the Anchorage Police Department is charged with investigating the shooting. Yet Boatright has determined

that all information on the shooting will come only

from him.

To date, there is no public record of who fired at McCrary, how many shots were fired or about the details of what led to the shooting. Boatright said Friday he doesn't know the status of the investigation. He hasn't asked, he said, because

he knows what the results

will be.

The delay in releasing information about the shooting to the public is a departure from how other law enforcement agencies handle similar situations. When two troopers fired their weapons at Gordon Carvalho on May 6, for example, the names of those involved in the incident were made public the next day, although information on whose shot hit the suspect wasn't available.

&#8220We hold the names of officers involved in a shooting only for 24 hours,” said Greg Wilkinson, spokesman for the troopers. In most cases there is little information the public isn't privy to, we only withhold information if it's required by law or procedures.”

Wilkinson said that in the six years he's been with the troopers there have been three or four times an officer had to use deadly force. Information about those incidents is usually made public within

24 hours for a good reason,

he said.

&#8220We have a real responsibility to the public,” he said. &#8220We have 400 people with guns, and we hold them to the highest possible standards. We want you to know that we take it extremely seriously.”

There have been no cases of officers using deadly force on the Wasilla Police Department since Don Savage took over as chief in 2001. Savage said his department is reworking its policy on shootings. The policy now allows for the chief to decide when an investigation needs to be outsourced to another agency, Savage said.

&#8220If it's not a contentious issue, we'd do it ourselves,” he said. &#8220If it is contentious, we'd at least seek assistance. We want to avoid the appearance of a cover-up.”

The Palmer shooting is the first one since Boatright joined the Palmer police in 1999. He became chief in 2001.

Boatright said he wants the investigation to be over so the results can be out in the open.

&#8220I'm not trying to be evasive, I'm trying to be careful,” he said.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.