The Alaska State Troopers released the name of the trooper involved in the fatal arrest attempt in Homer on April 2.
Trooper David G. Chaffin, a five-year veteran of the AST currently stationed at the Anchor Point Post, responded to a domestic violence call on East End Road when he got into a struggle with the suspect identified as 24-year-old Michael Rael-Catholic, according to a trooper dispatch released Saturday.
A civilian witness at the scene of the event observed Rael-Catholic shoot himself with the trooper’s pistol during the struggle, according to the trooper report.
On April 4, State Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Rael-Catholic died from a single gunshot wound to the head. Investigation by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation is continuing and when completed will be passed on to the Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals for review.
