According to Kotzebue Alaska State Troopers, a village police officer in Buckland was shot and wounded Friday by a man trying to import alcohol into a local option village.
Around 3 a.m. Friday, Kotzebue troopers were notified that Village Police Officer (VPO) Lorin B. Geary, 48, of Buckland, had been shot. AST wrote in a release that VPO Geary was responding to a report that a man, identified as 40-year-old Gary A. Ballot, of Buckland, was traveling to Buckland by boat with alcohol. The village of Buckland voted to ban the importation of alcohol.
VPO Geary met with Ballot at the beach.
"Ballot exited the boat and during contact shot VPO Geary," troopers wrote.
VPO Geary was medevaced to an Anchorage hospital. Several concerned citizens heard about the incident and responded to provide assistance. Ballot's firearm was taken from him and he was taken into custody.
Ballot was injured while being taken into custody, so he was transported to Kotzebue for treatment.
AST spokesperson Megan Peters says troopers are present in Buckland but few further details can immediately be released about the case, which is being led by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.
"It's an ABI case and the investigators aren't there yet," Peters said.
While Peters wasn't able to elaborate on where Geary was shot or the extent of his injuries, she says he is expected to survive.
"I was told he was stable and receiving treatment," Peters said. "I know he was conscious up until the time he was transported, and that's a good thing."
Geary's shooting comes about four months after the fatal March 19 shooting of Thomas Madole, a Manokotak village public safety officer. Leroy B. Dick Jr., 45, who allegedly fired on Madole while he was approaching Dick's home, was subsequently arraigned on one count of first-degree murder in the case.
ABI's investigation of Friday's shooting in Buckland is ongoing and witnesses are being contacted.
Channel 2's Chris Klint contributed information to this story.
Contact Jessica Ridgway