No one inside the building was injured by the crash, officials said.
A still from a Wasilla Police Department security camera shows an individual spraying bear spray from a window after driving a vehicle into the foray of the Wasilla Police Department Headquarters May 13, 2026.
WASILLA — A man driving a black sedan slammed into the entrance of the Wasilla Police Department headquarters Wednesday afternoon, breaking through one set of doors and spraying bear spray out the window. Palmer resident Thomas Desalvo II, 41, was removed from the vehicle, arrested and remanded to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility in Palmer, Wasilla Police Department spokesperson Amanda Graham said in a statement. He was assessed on the scene and found to have “insignificant injuries,” she said.
Desalvo is charged with three counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, one count of first-degree criminal mischief, one count of third-degree criminal mischief, one count of third-degree assault, one count of fourth-degree assault and two counts of reckless endangerment, the statement said. No one inside the building was injured, Graham said in an interview.
One member of the public was in the lobby at the time of the incident, and a civilian employee was sitting at a reception desk just inside the entryway, she said. Police station video released Thursday morning shows the vehicle into the doors at 4:43 p.m. The vehicle did not breach a second set of doors between the entryway and the building’s reception area.
The building security camera video shows the vehicle approaching the police station from a north entrance, crossing the parking lot in front of the building, driving over grass south of the door and crashing into the building. A second video, captured by a camera inside the entryway, shows the vehicle slam through the doors and an individual inside the car spraying bear spray out the window.
About one minute later, the individual attempts to open the car door but does not exit the vehicle. The video does not show the police response. Wasilla police and Alaska State Troopers responded immediately, Graham said. Desalvo, who was wearing a mask, attempted to deploy the bear spray at an officer in the lobby, she said in a statement Thursday.
Officers removed Desalvo from the vehicle. Desalvo assaulted an officer who was attempting to assist him with medical treatment, according to the release. Police evacuated the building and a nearby Wasilla High School softball field, Wasilla Police Chief William Rapson said in an interview at the scene. The field was scheduled to host a varsity championship softball game between Wasilla and Colony high schools shortly after 5 p.m., Wasilla High School Principal Jason Marvel said in an interview.
The game has not been rescheduled, he said. A black sedan sits in the doorway of the Wasilla Police Department headquarters after its driver crashed into the building May 13, 2026. Anchorage-based FBI special agent bomb technicians and members of the Anchorage bomb squad responded and found no additional threat from the vehicle late Wednesday night. Amy Bushatz is an experienced journalist based in Palmer, Alaska.
Originally from Santa Cruz, California, she and her family moved to Palmer sight-unseen from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to pursue a consistent, outdoor-focused lifestyle after her husband left active duty Army service.
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