The Alaska Supreme Court is set to rule in a civil case that could reshape how state courts evaluate whether law enforcement officers were justified in decisions to use deadly force.
The justices heard oral arguments on Sept. 9 in a lawsuit over a Kotzebue police sergeant’s 2022 nonfatal shooting of an Alaska Native man, Luke Outwater, who was experiencing a mental health crisis.
A lower court dismissed the case citing qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields police officers from personal liability while doing their jobs. But Outwater’s attorney, Jason Skala, argued that the court should have considered the broader circumstances of the shooting, not just the few seconds leading up to it.
"We're not asking this court to hold that Sergeant Cox used reasonable force,” Skala said. “We're asking it to hold that the Superior Court did not make a determination on summary judgment by examining only the five seconds of this encounter."
A welfare check ends in a shooting
The shooting began as a welfare check when family members of Outwater, who was 32 at the time, reported he was missing and suicidal.
Kotzebue Police Sgt. David “Mike” Cox and Cpl. Robert Odom found Outwater walking with two other people on an unpopulated road near Kotzebue’s airport. Outwater’s back was turned to the officers, and he was holding a knife.
Cox pulled up close to Outwater, exited his patrol vehicle, approached him and told him to put the knife down.
Body camera video from both officers showed what happened next. Outwater turned and walked toward Cox, holding the knife. Cox shot him twice, once in the chest and once in the shoulder.
About 15 seconds passed between when Cox got out of his vehicle and when he shot Outwater.
Outwater survived and sued the City of Kotzebue and Cox, alleging that Cox’s actions escalated a mental health crisis into a deadly encounter.
‘Why did you make me do this?’
In court, Skala argued that Cox was not following his training when he shot Outwater.
“Luke did exactly what all of his training told him would happen if you don't follow it,” Skala said. He then referenced a moment after the shooting when Cox asked Outwater, “Why did you make me do this?”
“He was blaming Luke for his own decisions that created the situation,” Skala said.
Skala pointed to Odom, the other officer on the scene, who remained at a distance. Skala said that Odom, unlike Cox, followed his crisis intervention training.
Skala also cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year, Barnes v. Felix, which held that courts must consider the totality of circumstances leading up to the use of deadly force, not just the moment force was used.
Kotzebue’s city attorney, Joe Evans, told the court the Barnes ruling doesn't change anything for Alaska. He said state courts have used a broader standard for evaluating police use of force for over two decades, citing Samaniego v. City of Kodiak, a 2000 Alaska Supreme Court decision.
Evans said Cox’s overall conduct following the shooting showed he was a reasonable officer acting in good faith.
“Afterwards, he saved Outwater's life by stopping the bleeding before the ambulance could get there,” Evans said. “That's on the body cam, too.”
Timothy Bowman, who represents Cox, said his client was reacting to an active threat from a man who ignored commands to drop a knife then charged at him.
“Sergeant Cox didn't approach with his firearm drawn,” Bowman said. “He wasn't berating Mr. Outwater. He simply asked him to put his knife down.”
Cox has since resigned from the Kotzebue Police Department. He left in May 2024, after it became public that he’d used a racial slur in a comment he left on a South Carolina sheriff's department's Facebook post about two Black suspects.
The state Supreme Court justices pressed both sides on how far back a court should examine an officer's actions while considering qualified immunity. The justices did not give an indication as to how they would rule and adjourned, saying they would issue a written opinion at a later date.
