Anchorage security officer arrested after shooting man in rock throwing incident
Anchorage AK May 26 2023
A 34-year-old man working as a security guard at a convenience store in northeast Anchorage is accused of shooting a man that he followed outside Saturday night after asking him to leave.
Aaron Hambright was charged Sunday with felony first-degree assault and remained in custody at the Anchorage jail as of Thursday afternoon.
At the time of the shooting, Hambright was working for Phoenix Protective Corp. and was providing services to the Holiday store on Mountain View Drive, according to an Anchorage police spokeswoman.
The wounded man, who was shot three times in the chest and abdomen, was on the sidewalk near the store when officers arrived Saturday night, according to a police report summary included with charging documents.
An ambulance took the man to a hospital in critical condition where he was eventually stabilized after surgery, the report summary said.
The state licenses security guards. Hambright was issued an Alaska security guard license last July, according to a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety. That license will be subject to revocation if he’s convicted of a felony.
The incident began when the man entered the station’s convenience store around 9 p.m. Saturday, according to the document.
The encounter was captured on video by Hambright’s body camera and by in-store surveillance cameras, the summary said. A witness also provided a statement to police. Initially, the man can be seen walking around the store acting “somewhat erratically,” the document said. He approaches a counter Hambright is behind.
Hambright told police during an interview that he asked the man to leave because he was concerned his behavior indicated the possibility, he might try to rob the store, according to the report summary.
The man initially refused to leave, but then walked outside as Hambright grabbed for his pepper spray, the charges said. The guard followed him outside and told him he was not allowed back on the property, the summary said.
The man picked up a rock and threw it toward Hambright but missed, the charges said. Hambright at that point drew his gun and pointed the muzzle down while walking toward the man, according to the summary.
As the two got closer, the man threw another rock that hit Hambright in the chin, the document said. Directly after that, it said, “Hambright raised his firearm and fired three shots” that hit the man in the chest and abdomen area.
Hambright had a visible injury on his gums from the rock, police said. He did not require medical attention.
Police were called to the area by another store employee who witnessed the shooting.
Hambright told police that he followed the man from the store because he was still on company property, the charges said. He told officers he feared for his life because the man was throwing rocks at him, and was aiming for his chest when he fired, according to the charges.
“He stated that if he had had a Taser, he would have used it instead, but that he could not afford to buy one and the security company he works for makes employees supply their own,” the document said.
He was arrested after detectives interviewed him, police said.
An official from Phoenix Protective Corp. said no one was available until Monday to provide details about Hambright’s employment or the company’s use-of-force policies.
An employee at the store said they were unable to discuss the shooting and a corporate spokesman did not return a message left Thursday.
Hambright has no prior criminal convictions, according to the charging documents.
The public defender assigned to represent Hambright did not return a request for comment Thursday. Hambright is being held on a $10,000 appearance bond and was scheduled to appear for a bail hearing Friday morning.
