This is a developing story.
The names of five law enforcement officers involved in a confrontation last week on Front Street that resulted in the shooting death of Steven Kissack — including the two officers who fired their guns at him — have been released by their respective agencies.
An updated narrative of the incident was also provided in a Juneau Police Department information release Tuesday afternoon that identified four JPD officers involved.
One JPD officer who discharged his firearm is Sgt. Chris Gifford, who according to JPD has 25 years of law enforcement experience and 23 with the department. The other officer who fired his gun was Alaska Wildlife Trooper Sgt. Branden Forst, whose name was released last Thursday by the Alaska State Troopers.
Gifford was previously investigated for an officer-involved shooting on Dec. 3, 2016, when he fired one round at a man “after being threatened with what he believed to be a firearm,” inflicting injuries that were not life threatening, according to a JPD report of the incident. A review by state Department of Law officials concluded the shooting was justified because “it is clear from the investigation that (the man) threatened the sergeant and others at the scene.”
The other JPD officers identified as present during the incident are:
• Terry Allen, with 26 years of law enforcement experience, including 23 with JPD.
• Lee Phelps, with 18 years of law enforcement experience, including 15 years with JPD.
• Tim Kissner, with 2.5 years of law enforcement service, all with JPD.
Kissack, 35, a longtime Juneau resident experiencing homelessness who was frequently seen downtown with his malamute companion, Juno, was shot multiple times while wielding a knife following the confrontation that lasted more than 15 minutes, according to official reports.
A memorial on Front Street for Steven Kissack on Thursday, July 18, 2024. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
His death has resulted in widespread anger and debate about the circumstances that allowed Kissack to remain on the street for so long, and if the officers’ actions were justified. On Sunday two groups of protesters marched through downtown Juneau to the spot where he was killed, where memorials featuring flowers, pictures and other items have been placed in doorways Kissack slept at and the location he died.
There are 17 criminal cases against Kissack between 2021 and 2024, 13 of them for minor offenses, in the Alaska Court System’s online database. Charging documents for three of the cases (available here, here and here), posted online by the Anchorage Daily News, show Kissack consistently wielding a bowie knife with a blade longer than six inches, and that he has threatened and/or attacked officers on multiple occasions.
Most of the minor offenses involve illegal camping or “obstructions prohibited” citations. Three of the four cases involving more serious offenses were filed between Feb. 22 and April 4 of this year. The other was a 2021 assault case involving a police officer.
“It should be noted that Steven had become increasingly hostile toward police, making several threats of killing/harming police, ranging from obtaining a firearm to kill police to going ‘Valhalla’ on the police with edged weapons,” states a report by JPD officer Joe Paden about a Feb. 22, 2024, encounter between himself and another officer with Kissack on Front Street that resulted in misdemeanor charges of assault and resisting arrest.
The JPD narrative released Tuesday contains details of an alleged assault the day before the shooting in which Kissack was the suspect.
“On July 14th, 2024 at about 6:44 a.m., the Juneau Police Department received a report of an assault in the 200 block of S. Franklin Street,” the statement notes. “The complainant reported that Steven Kissack had been sitting in front of a private entrance, blocking the area. The complainant asked Kissack to move, but he refused. When the complainant started to call the police, Kissack stood up, came at the complainant, punched him in the face, and continued to try and grab, kick, and punch them. JPD responded to the area, but Kissack had already left the area and officers were unable to locate him.”
An officer approached Kissack on Front Street the following day at about 1:10 p.m., which escalated into the fatal outcome, according to JPD. The updated release states the officer repeatedly asked Kissack to put the knife down during the initial minutes of his discussion, but he refused.
“The officer spoke with Kissack for about six minutes, before Kissack abruptly stood up with the knife in his hand and started walking toward the officer in a threatening manner,” the release states. “The officer backed away from Kissack, removed his handgun from the holster, and ordered Kissack to put down the knife.”
“Kissack continued to hold the knife and walked toward the officer in a threatening manner. The officer called for emergency backup. The officer told Kissack that he was under arrest and repeatedly told Kissack to put the knife down. Kissack responded by saying he would die first and that he would kill the officer.”
The subsequent standoff, which involved other officers and bystanders, lasted nearly 10 minutes before Kissack told the officers to stop pointing guns at him, JPD reported. He started walking toward an officer, saying “I’m going to come kill you,” at which point officers fired several non-lethal projectiles at him, but “he continued to walk toward them with the knife in his hand.”
“Kissack then charged at the officers while brandishing his knife,” the release states. “Two law enforcement officers discharged their firearms and Kissack was struck.”
Videos of the incident that have been posted online show Kissack running while holding the knife moments before he was shot, but do not conclusively show if he was running directly at an officer who is not clearly visible in the frames.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident, after which the results will be reviewed by the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions which is responsible for doing so after all officer-involved shootings in Alaska.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
A photo of Steven Kissack at a memorial in downtown Juneau on Tuesday, July 16, near where he was fatally shot by police the previous day. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
