Mar. 29, 2024 8:13 AM
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Jenkins/1939
Broadwell/1954
Buchanan/1926
Holder/1938
Tucker/1948
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Harry Biddington Hanson Jr.
- Jul. 17, 1986 -
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(378)
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Resided: |
AK, USA
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Born: | Dec. 01, 1944 |
Fallen: | Jul. 17, 1986 |
Race/Sex: | Caucasian Male / 41 yrs. of age |
| Agency |
Dept: | Anchorage Police Dept.
4501 Elmore Rd Anchorage, AK
99507 USA (907)786-8500 |
County: | Anchorage |
Dept. Type: | Municipal/Police |
Hero's Rank: | Patrolman |
Sworn Date: | 1/1978 |
FBI Class: | Homicide - Gun |
Weapon Class: | Firearm |
Agency URL: | Click Here
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Bio: Harry Biddington Hanson, Jr., 41, was born in Frostburg, MD, on Dec. 1, 1944, to Harry Biddington Hanson, Sr., and Eleanor Hanson. Both of his parents were also born in MD. Harry was the elder of two boys, Harry and Robert (born in 1949 in Long Beach, CA). Harry, Jr., nicknamed "Jim," grew up as the child of a military family as his father was a Marine Corps fighter pilot. Jim attended school in many different places (e.g., NC, VA, CA, SC, AL, and WV). As a youth he loved the outdoors and participated in hunting, fishing, photography, swimming, archery, and horseback riding. He was also artistic enjoying poetry, drawing and painting with oils.
Harry, 17, graduated from Beaufort, SC, H.S. in 1962. He was a track star in H.S. and won several medals in the high and low hurdles. Young Hanson entered the U. of West Virginia in Sept. of 1962 as a forestry major.
Young Harry (Jim) joined the U.S. Army in WV 1963 at the age of 18. He served a short term in Korea as a private and then returned to the U.S. to attend Officer's Candidate School at Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA. He was flown to GA by his father on his day of retirement as he made his last flight as a Marine pilot. Upon graduation "Jim" was commissioned as a 2nd Lt.
Hanson served two tours of duty in Vietnam where he was a "highly decorated" member of the Army Special Forces. He received the Cross of Gallantry for bravery in combat. He also served as an advisor in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Hanson was discharged from the Army in 1971 as a Captain after serving a total of 8 & 1/2 years.
After discharge from the Army in 1971 and before joining the Anchorage Police Dept. in 1978, Hanson "had a variety of jobs" such as sales manager for a NC lawn and fence firm. After moving to Anchorage he worked for American Guard and Alert, Inc.
Harry Hanson married Deanna Boone on Oct. 25, 1972. The couple had five children, Melissa Ann (born Oct. 27, 1973, in Fayetteville, NC); Harry B., III (born Sept. 29, 1975, in Anchorage); Heather Marie (born Aug. 14, 1981, in Anchorage); Amy Michelle (born Feb. 8, 1984, in Anchorage) and Leo James (born on March 8, 1986, in Anchorage).
Hanson, who was an 8-year veteran of the A.P.D. at the time of his death, joined the Anchorage Police Dept. on Jan. 1, 1978. He first worked in patrol and went on to become a Field Training Officer teaching recruits. He was transferred to the Canine Unit on Dec. 24, 1981, and began working with his new partner, Baron, a German Shepherd police dog. Baron was eighteen months old when he began living in Hanson's home. The five Hanson children loved the dog they called, "Bear." Baron and Hanson's daughter, Heather, shared the same birthday and the two of them always shared a birthday cake on that day. Hanson and Baron won several awards for outstanding service and were involved in "some of the department's most notable crime-fighting encounters." In 1983 Hanson and Baron "got into a minor wrestling match" with a burglar "who bit Baron on the ear, Baron bit back, and the suspect was subdued." In 1985 Hanson and Baron were checking out a burglar alarm at a downtown restaurant when an knife-wielding intruder "advanced on them." Baron "blocked him" from reaching his partner and was stabbed in the eye. The intruder was caught and Baron recovered and was given the Dept.'s Medal of Valor, "the force's highest honor for bravery," at the A.P.D.'s annual awards banquet. The audience gave Hanson and the barking, Baron, a standing ovation. |
Survived by: |
Lt. Col. Harry B. Hanson, Sr., USMC (Retired) - Father
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and his five children, Melissa Ann, 12, Harry B., 8, Heather Marie, 4, Amy Michelle, 2, and Leo James, 4 months, all of Fayetteville, NC; his mohter - Eleanor Hanson, of Tecumseh, MI; and his brother, Robert, 37, of Jackson, MI, a MI State Police Officer. He was also survived by his German Shepherd police dog, Baron, who had been his constant companion for 5 years.
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Fatal Incident Summary
Offender: |
William A. Weitz
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Location: |
AK
USA
Thu. Jul. 17, 1986
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Summary: |
Anchorage Police Officer Harry B. "Jim" Hanson, 41, was shot and killed "from ambush" while chasing a fugitive on July 17, 1986. He became the sixth member of the Anchorage Police Dept. killed in the line of duty. His killer was later convicted and sentenced to 169 years in prison with no possibility of parole.
Around 3:45AM on Thursday, July 17, 1986, Canine Officers Hanson and Giles were in pursuit of a man who had earlier fired at another A.P.D. officer and taken her patrol car. The fugitive, William A. Weitz, 27, an ex-convict, had been stopped around 3:30AM by A.P.D. Officer Cindy Mittasch who spotted his green 1976 Toyota station wagon near East Sixth Ave. and Juneau St. as the possible getaway car in a convenience store robbery (of the Qwik Stop at 341 Boniface Parkway) earlier that evening.
When the Toyota finally pulled over in response to Mittasch's flashing lights, Weitz "jumped from" his car and "leveled a pistol at her." The officer "jumped from her car and dashed behind it for cover." Weitz fired at the officer and the officer fired two shots in response. Weitz continued to advance on the officer as he fired and she retreated to a vacant lot where she again took cover.
Weitz then jumped in the officer's "still-idling patrol car" and sped south on Juneau into the middle of Fairview, "a sleepy neighborhood of closely packed homes and apartments." Weitz crashed the patrol car into a concrete wall at 11th Ave. and Nelchina St. and abandoned the patrol car to flee on foot. Several officers arrived on the scene to search for the fugitive including canine officers Hanson and Giles. Hanson left his dog, Baron, in the patrol car and he and Giles pursued the fugitive with Giles' dog, Pete, who picked up Weitz's scent and began tracking.
The dog led Hanson and Giles to the front yard of a "four-plex" at the southeast corner of 10th and Nelchina. Weitz was "hiding beneath a spruce tree's heavy boughs, holding a light-weight, five-shot .38 caliber revolver." As the two officers approached, Weitz suddenly "jumped out and fired once at Hanson from "point-blank range" (a foot away), striking him in the neck, just above his bulletproof vest. The assailant then "turned and dashed into the street" while "still shooting at the two officers." Giles returned his fire.
Another K-9 officer, Gilbert Cordell, "chased and shot at Weitz," and "emptied his .38-caliber service revolver and reloaded." Weitz, who had been hit four times, fell about halfway down the block on Nelchina. Police found marked cash from the convenience store robbery in his possession. Weitz fired five shots at police while Cordell fired 11 shots in response and Giles fired 4 rounds. Hanson did not fire his weapon.
Hanson was rushed by ambulance to Humana Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Weitz was arrested and hospitalized where his initial condition was declared as "serious but stable." He later successfully underwent surgery to his arm, shoulder and thigh at Providence Hospital.
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Disposition: |
On March 6, 1987, Judge Seaborn J. Buckalew, Jr., sentenced Weitz to a total of 169 years in prison (99 years for the murder, 20 years each for the robbery and attempted murder and 30 years for the three other charges). The judge ordered that "the defendant shall never be eligible for parole." In 1998 the records of the AK Dept. of Corrections indicated that Weitz was not eligible for parole. |
Source: |
Book Excerpted in part or in whole from Dr. Wilbanks book-
FORGOTTEN HEROES: POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN ALASKA, 1867-1998
By Dr. Wm. Wilbanks FL International University
To be published by Turner Publications in early 1999
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Last Updated: May. 29, 2019 |
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