LaFrance: $2.1 million settlement ‘best path forward’ following fatal police shooting of teen girl
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said the decision for the municipality to enter into a $2.11 million settlement with the family of 16-year-old Easter Leafa was made in the community’s best interest following the August 2024 fatal officer-involved shooting.
“I’m grateful to the Leafa family for the profound grace with which they have approached this tragic incident,” LaFrance said. “I’m grateful to our police officers who serve our community and who are committed to keeping people safe, and I appreciate that folks will have questions and it’s important to keep in mind that this path forward is the one that I strongly believe is in the best interest of the municipality and our community, and we need to move forward and extend grace to each other.”
Leafa’s family and Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case, according to municipality leaders, reached settlement terms on April 30 following state prosecutors declining to criminally charge the officers in the case.
However, the municipality went on to say that in the municipality’s view, the state decision did not resolve potential civil claims, saying settlement decisions are based on “strategic calls to minimize risks and costs” based on each case’s specific circumstances.
In the year since the first officer-involved shooting in Anchorage was captured on body cameras in May of 2024, the shooting involving Leafa is one of 12 other officer-involved shootings.
Of those, the Leafa family settlement is the only one made since LaFrance was sworn into office last summer.
“The municipal attorney’s office conducts a very thorough review and the municipality settles cases when it’s in the best interest to do so,” LaFrance said. “Each instance is different and the municipal attorney would need to speak to the specificity of this case, but again, the decision to settle is the result of a very thorough analysis and taking into account the risks and the impacts of not settling.”
In a statement to Alaska’s News Source, Municipal Attorney Eva Gardner said through “thorough investigation and careful analysis,” her staff determined the Leafa case presented “particularly high financial stakes” and felt a settlement was the best way to protect the city, the police department and public finances.
Since the state previously cleared the officers in the case of any criminal wrongdoing, Gardner also detailed the difference between criminal and civil law as it related to the decision.
“One significant difference is that criminal convictions require a much higher standard of proof: prosecutors must have confidence that they can prove their case ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ which is the highest standard that exists in the law,” Gardner said. “OSP declined to bring criminal charges on behalf of the State of Alaska, but its decision had no effect on the family’s potential civil claims.”
Following the Aug. 13, 2024, shooting, LaFrance extended an apology to the Leafa family during a news conference.
“To the family of Easter Leafa, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. This young woman deserves to be safe in our community and you deserved so much more time with her,” LaFrance said two days after the shooting.
Shortly after the mayor’s statement, Anchorage Police Employees Association president Sgt. Darrell Evans reacted, saying he was “dismayed,” because in his view, it suggested a conclusion had been determined prior to any investigation’s findings.
LaFrance said she was not aware of any impact her statement had on the settlement and had no reason to believe the two were connected.
“I believe it’s really important for people to keep in mind that the municipality settles cases when it’s in the best interest of the municipality to do so,” LaFrance said on Friday.
“I believe that not only is this in the best interest of the municipality, but it’s in the best interests of everyone for our community, for the family, for the officers. To go through, potentially, a long and difficult court procedures would make it really hard for our community to move through this in a way that emphasizes healing in a way that enables us to focus on the future and working together to ensure that everyone feels safe and that our police officers are supported and have the tools they need,” the mayor went onto say.
Leafa family attorney Darryl Thompson told Alaska’s News Source Friday that while no amount of money could ever replace the family’s loss, they’re appreciative of what Thompson called the opportunity to put the tragedy behind them as a means of healing rather than reliving the events through litigation.
“The reason they [Leafa family] have not blasted the shooter out there is because they recognize he’s a human being,” Thompson said. “They believe he made a tragic mistake. They know it’s not for them to judge him, and that they cared about his family and how he was feeling about this, and they didn’t want to cause any more harm, and she looked Chief Case right in the eye and said, ‘We want him to know that we forgive him.’”
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