Samoan community plans peaceful march for justice in Leafa shooting

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Anchorage’s Samoan community, outside organizations, and citizens will assemble Saturday morning outside the Anchorage Police Department’s downtown headquarters for a march for Easter Leafa.

Samoan leaders, who are encouraged to wear white, will stand alongside community partners and the public, all wishing for justice and peace in Leafa’s death.

The Alaska Samoan Tribal-led event comes days after the 16-year-old was shot and killed by police. Family members of Leafa reached out to police after she threatened her sister with a knife, APD said. Leading up to the shooting at the Greenbriar Apartments on Tuesday night, Leafa approached officers with a knife.

Anchorage’s prominent Samoan community seeks to heal and unite in the aftermath of the traumatic encounter, which was witnessed by some of Leafa’s family, according to Pastor Samuel Fiu Unutoa.

“My call to our Samoan communities as a spokesman for our tribal is let’s come together in peace and let’s go meet the cops, you know, the police chief,” Unutoa said on Thursday.

Unutoa got his wish on Friday when he and others met in person with Chief Sean Case and invited him to the march. Unutoa said Case is expected to speak at Saturday’s event, which he said is a march instead of a protest.

“Samoans do not know how to protest, we do not do protests in American Samoa,” Unutoa said.

The march is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will end with a prayer service at Town Square Park. Leaders will speak outside City Hall and the downtown courthouse along the way.

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