Bethel police officers shot and killed a man at a residence early on the morning of June 7.
According to an Alaska State Trooper dispatch, Bethel police responded to a home on Schwalbe Street just before 2 a.m. based on reports of a domestic disturbance involving a gun.
Officers shot and killed 23-year-old Neil Japhet at the residence after Japhet allegedly brandished a shotgun. Japhet later died from his injuries at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Hospital.
Bethel Director of Public Safety Jeffrey Kirkham said that two officers fired shots in the incident. He plans to release the officers’ names late on June 9.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident at the request of the Bethel Police Department. Troopers said that the investigation will be independently reviewed by the state Office of Special Prosecutions.
Troopers said that no officers were injured, and that no other injuries have been reported. Japhet’s body has been sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage and his next of kin have been notified.
This is the second shooting by Bethel police officers in less than three months. In late March, Bethel police officer Ceaira Preuett shot 53-year-old Wassillie Larson after he allegedly lunged at her with a knife. Larson survived and has been charged with felony assault.
