Trooper named in Fourth of July shooting

WASILLA — An Anchorage man who was shot by Alaska State Troopers last week was served in the hospital Thursday with a $50,000 arrest warrant on charges of first-degree failure to stop at the direction of an officer, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license.

On July 4, Albert Samoa Maifea, 35, led troopers on a high-speed chase in his vehicle and then allegedly “brandished” a handgun at Jared Noll, a trooper assigned to Palmer patrol, while trying to flee on foot.

Trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen clarified that Maifea” brandished,” not pointed, a gun at Noll.

“At this point in the investigation we believe Maifea “brandished” the gun, which is different than pointing it at the trooper,” she said.

Troopers say the incident began around 9:20 p.m., July 4 when they tried to stop Maifea while driving a red 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix southbound near Mile 44, Parks Highway in Wasilla.

Maifea ran a red light on the Parks Highway and began driving into the oncoming lane while passing traffic, troopers report. Maifea exceed 100 mph while driving southbound on Knik-Goose Bay Road before turning onto Edlund Road and then onto Fairview Loop Road. Near the intersection of Lookout Drive on Fairview Loop, Maifea left the vehicle and fled on foot.

After Maifea brandish a handgun at Trooper Noll, he discharged his weapon, striking Maifea.

Mat-Su Emergency Medical Services responded and Maifea was transported to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. He remains hospitalized, troopers said Saturday.

Troopers say that Maifea was driving with a revoked operator’s license and had an outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrant from the Anchorage Court for malicious mischief to private property.

The officer who shot Maifea has been with the troopers since 2011. Prior to joining troopers, Noll was a law enforcement officer with the Ted Stevens International Airport Police and Fire Department from 2009 until 2011.

Although Anchorage has lately experienced a spate of what law enforcement calls “officer-involved shootings” the Valley has been quiet on that front for months. The last such shooting came in February of this year when Russell Tanner, grieving a lost daughter, armed with a shotgun and high on drugs, jumped out of a second story window after reporting shadowy figures in his yard and breaking into his house.

Tanner, like Maifea, but unlike most people on the receiving end of an officer-involved shooting, survived the incident with only a wound to his elbow. He was eventually sentenced for possessing a gun while intoxicated. Noll was not involved in that shooting.

Prior to that, the last time troopers shot at someone in the Valley was in July of last year during a standoff with a suicidal male near Mile 4, Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

Adrian T. Spindler, 19, was shot and killed in that incident.

Every officer-involved shooting in at least the past five years in the Valley has involved a suspect armed with a gun.

A statement from troopers said that the July 4 shooting is still under investigation by the Alaska State Troopers’ Alaska Bureau of Investigation, which conducts a thorough investigation. Then the Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals will review the investigation to determine whether Noll acted within the law.

Finally, the Department of Public Safety will review the case to determine if Noll’s actions were appropriate under the circumstance, in accordance with department policy and that he used every option to try to avoid using deadly force.

People who may have witnessed this pursuit or shooting event are encouraged to contact Alaska State Trooper Investigator Mark Granda in Palmer at 746-9106.