Troopers on Thursday named the officer who shot and killed a man who was allegedly wielding a harpoon at South Kasilof Beach on Monday.
Trooper Gabriel Holmann shot 67-year-old Soldotna resident Kirk Medak after troopers say he charged them while brandishing a harpoon, the department said in an update to a Monday morning dispatch.
According to the dispatch from troopers, they were called shortly after midnight and told that a man was threatening to kill people with a sword at the beach, where the personal use dipnetting season is underway.
When troopers arrived, the dispatch says that Medak ran at their vehicle while carrying a harpoon. He “initially retreated” when troopers said to step back, but he charged again when they exited the vehicle, troopers said. Holmann then shot the man.
Medak was declared dead at the scene, the dispatch says, despite lifesaving efforts by troopers and by emergency medical services.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is “actively investigating the incident thoroughly,” the dispatch says. Holmann is a “one-year veteran of the Alaska State Troopers,” they said Thursday.
A release from the State Department of Public Safety in June 2023 lists Holmann among the graduates of Alaska Law Enforcement Training, noting that he took an abbreviated course as a lateral hire from another agency. In 2020, he was employed as a police officer at Kenai Police Department.
This story was updated Monday afternoon with the name of the man allegedly wielding the harpoon, and Thursday with the name of the trooper who shot the man.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
