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Shane Tasi's father believes his son's death was cold-blooded murder

“The death of my son was a cold blooded murder  and I hope that the Anchorage police department will carry out a thorough investigation into Shane’s murder,” said Anetele’a Mikaele Tasi, father of Shane “Paulo” Tasi who was shot dead by an Anchorage police officer over the weekend in Anchorage, Alaska.

Samoa News yesterday visited the parents of Shane, who reside in Nu’uuli.  Anetele’a and his wife Sineti said they were still in shock over the death of their 26-year old son.

Mrs. Tasi said Shane contacted them on Friday after sending money over, and they talked for a few minutes. The following day, he was shot.

The grieving mother told Samoa News that Shane was very excited about his first day of work, which was to be Monday (yesterday).

In tears, Mrs. Tasi said when they received word of the death of their son they could not believe it, because Shane is one of the quietest of their seven children and was not a trouble maker.

“Shane is the second to the eldest and he’s a very sweet kid who loves his three kids,” she said.

Mrs. Tasi said her son would have been 27 on August 16, this year.

Shane’s parent’s who are from Samoa, are working on getting the proper documentation so they can travel to Alaska for their son’s funeral.

Shane’s father told Samoa News that Shane was holding a stick. He asked, “What’s so threatening about that which triggered the office to shoot him?

“Shane was waving a stick around, not a gun, not a knife, but the police officer shot him as if my son was holding a weapon.”

Mr. Tasi told Samoa News he believes that this is about racism and Samoans that live in Mountain View should be more cautious.

He went on to ask again — “Why would a trained police officer shoot someone holding a stick?”

The tearful father said he hopes that justice will be served in the death of their son and he will seek assistance from organizations which give help to people in similar situations. Shane’s mother said funeral services are pending due to the investigations by police in Alaska.

MSNBC reported that an Anchorage police officer shot and killed Shane while he was wielding a stick during a confrontation in Mountain View, after the police officers approached him and he repeatedly failed to follow their commands.

According to MSNBC, the Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker said officers responded shortly before 9:30 p.m. to reports of a disturbance on the 700 block of North Bunn Street, where callers said a man with a stick had been yelled at passing cars and attacked a neighbor's dog.

Officers encountered the man — a 26-year-old — in the yard of an apartment complex and ordered him to drop the stick, but he continued to aggressively approach them, according to police.

Parker said the confrontation between Tasi and the officers occurred at relatively short range.

"He was very close, and it was a very small yard," Parker said.

One officer shot Tasi with his service pistol and Tasi was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead after efforts to save his life were unsuccessful.

The incident is under investigation by APD homicide detectives and crime-scene investigators.

According to the mother, Shane grew up in American Samoa. He left in 2003 for Alaska to find a job.

Shane is the father of three children, ages two, one, and a  nine-month old baby, while his wife is three months pregnant, said Mrs Tasi.

Shane was a graduate of Leone High School, Class of 2003.

Samoa News extends sincere condolences to the family.