APD: Signs of mental decline preceded suspect’s violent standoff

Ginami Street Home police standoff
Windows are broken at the home of Robert Musser on Friday morning off Upper Huffman Road on the Anchorage Hillside. Musser was found dead early Friday after keeping police at bay since Wednesday morning. (Photo by Erik Hill/Alaska Dispatch News)

A standoff between a SWAT team and 69-year-old veteran Robert Musser ended with Musser’s death early Friday morning after 42 hours.

Anchorage Police Department Chief Chris Tolley says around 3 a.m. responders discovered Musser’s body in his home. It was almost 15 hours after an exchange of gunfire that left two officers injured.

“It was unknown at the time whether or not Musser was injured in the shooting,” Tolley said.

Throughout Thursday afternoon and into the night, Tolley says there was no sign of Musser from inside his remote Hillside home. But Tolley declined to say whether he was killed by a bullet, saying the body has been sent to a state examiner to officially determine a cause of death.

Details from police suggest Musser was in a state of mental decline. In the last few months, Tolley says APD had made four welfare checks to the residence on the advice of concerned neighbors.

“Each time officers attempted to contact Musser he would yell through his window that he was fine, alive, and would demand our officers to leave,” Tolley said. “In one of the cases, the neighbors told officers that it appeared Musser was potentially experiencing some mental health issues.”

One of the reasons the standoff lasted so long was the difficulty officers faced accessing the house. Tolley described both the yard and the residence as crowded with “many, many items.” A team eventually entered the house by using armored heavy equipment, finally locating Musser’s body.

“It is not how we wanted this response to go. It’s absolutely heartbreaking when these events result in a loss of life,” Tolley said.

Because six officers discharged their weapons, the case is considered an officer-involved shooting and will be examined by the Office of Special Prosecutions. All six officers are on administrative leave. Tolley says the length and intensity of the event has left many in the department strained.

“This was a long ordeal, as well as a long week,” he said.

The standoff on the Hillside was one of just three in the municipality since Monday. One played out simultaneously for much of Thursday, finally ending in a surrender. Officials say they don’t have an explanation for the cluster of events.

Alaska Public Media

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