Alaska State Troopers shot and killed Mason Toloff, 32, in Kasilof early Friday morning, after they say he was yelling and firing a gun and injured one of the responding troopers.
A trooper dispatch published at around 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24, says they were called around 10 p.m. on Thursday “about a man yelling and discharging a firearm near Crooked Creek Road in Kasilof.” Crooked Creek is a long road that stretches a few miles south from the end of Johnson Lake Loop Road.
Troopers said in an email Friday that the circumstances leading to Toloff’s alleged yelling and firing a gun were still under investigation.
Per the dispatch, Toloff threatened to shoot troopers when they arrived in Kasilof, and the Southern SWAT Team also responded “and began negotiation efforts.” A drone was deployed in the area, which Toloff tried to shoot “multiple times” before then shooting a uniformed trooper in the leg. The trooper was were taken to “a Kenai Peninsula hospital” with non-life-threatening injuries.
The dispatch says that it was 2 a.m. on Friday morning when Toloff again pointed his shotgun at officers and he was then shot by “multiple SWAT officers” and declared dead at the scene. An update to the dispatch on Monday says that the three officers who fired their guns were all members of the Southern SWAT Team. They were Trooper Sergeant Ethan Norwood, a 12-year veteran of the Alaska State Troopers; Trooper Jonathan Lindblom, a 2-year veteran of the Alaska State Troopers; and Homer Police Officer Charles Lee, a 4-year veteran of the Homer Police.
In all instances where Alaska State Troopers use lethal force, the case is investigated by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation. The officers who fired their guns were placed on administrative leave until Monday, the dispatch says. As of Monday, investigation is ongoing, and when completed will be “independently reviewed by the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions.”
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Friday morning offered well wishes to the injured trooper in Facebook posts.
“Last night, one of our brave Alaska State Troopers was shot while on duty, protecting our great state,” Dunleavy wrote. “Rose and I ask all Alaskans to keep this injured Trooper, her loved ones, and all of our law enforcement officers in your prayers as they work tirelessly to keep us safe.”
Friday’s shooting was the second by Alaska State Troopers in the Kasilof area within the last year, following the July shooting death of Kirk Medak at South Kasilof Beach when the agency said he had charged troopers while brandishing a harpoon. The bureau of investigation said that troopers were justified in their use of force in that case.
This story was updated Monday, Jan. 27, with the names of the three members of the Alaska State Troopers Southern SWAT Team who fired their guns.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
