Kenai Police Department, Alaska
End of Watch: Thursday, December 25, 2003
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 18 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 25, 2003
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to 101 years
Officer John Watson was shot and killed after locating a vehicle wanted by the Alaska State Troopers.
At 7:41 pm, the troopers had asked for assistance in locating a newer silver Ford Excursion. A citizen had reported to the troopers that the suspect and a 21-year-old female had left her residence in a Ford Excursion and that the subject appeared intoxicated and agitated. The troopers were attempting to locate the vehicle in order to conduct a welfare check.
Officer Watson went to the home of the subject but was unable to locate the truck. At 8:16 pm, Officer Watson reported that he had just seen a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle driving past him. He turned around and stopped the vehicle in the driveway at a residence on Watergate Way. Officer Watson allowed the female companion to exit the vehicle in order to take two dogs into the house.
During the stop, the suspect acted aggressively toward Officer Watson, and a struggle ensued as Officer Watson attempted to arrest the man. At some point during the struggle, the suspect was able to obtain Officer Watson's service weapon, a Glock 21, .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun. The suspect fired two shots, one of which struck Officer Watson in the back and was deflected by his bullet-resistant vest. The second shot struck Officer Watson in the back of the head, killing him.
The suspect then walked into the residence, where his female companion took the gun from him and put it in the bedroom.
When backup officers arrived, the female came to the door and ran from the residence unharmed, but the suspect refused to surrender. After a short stand-off, the suspect surrendered to officers at 1:07 am. He was convicted of first-degree murder and assault on June 3, 2005, and sentenced to 101 years.
Officer Watson was a United States Army veteran and had served with the Kenai Police Department for 18 years. He is survived by his wife, children, mother, two brothers, and sister.