Officer from the Juneau Police Department investigate an officer involved shooting that occured early Sunday morning off of Cinema Drive, Dec. 29, 2019. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)

Officer from the Juneau Police Department investigate an officer involved shooting that occured early Sunday morning off of Cinema Drive, Dec. 29, 2019. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)

Police release name of officer involved in fatal shooting

The case is still under investigation.

The Juneau Police Department has released the name of the officer involved in a fatal shooting Sunday.

Officer James Esbenshade shot and killed 34-year-old Kelly Michael Stephens as Stephens allegedly approached Esbenshade, screaming threats and swinging a chain, wrote JPD Public Safety Manager Erann Kalwara in a press release Friday afternoon.

Police say Stephens was wanted in connection for a 911 call about two hours earlier that evening where a man allegedly threatened a shopper outside the Super Bear IGA. Esbenshade investigated the call, then later another 911 call from the Chinook Apartments, where he encountered Stephens, Kalwara said.

Esbenshade has been a member of JPD since 2009, the police statement said.

Alaska’s Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions is investigating the case to evaluate if the shooting was justified, Juneau District Attorney Angie Kemp said at an earlier press conference.

Per JPD policy, the names of officers involved in shootings are withheld from the public for at least 24 hours, and are placed on administrative leave.

Both JPD and Alaska State Troopers are still investigating the case.

This instance marked the second JPD officer involved shooting in 2019, with a nonfatal shooting taking place in August. The last fatal officer-involved shooting in Juneau was in 2007.


• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.


More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Nov. 3

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Juneau Assembly members and other visitors gather in the entrance lobby of the Michael J. Burns Building on Monday, April 8, 2024, as part of their on-site tour of potential locations for a new City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
‘Office space shuffle’ for city workers continues with plan to buy part of Michael J. Burns Building

CBJ would purchase two floors, Permanent Fund Corp. would keep top floor under “condo” agreement.

Christopher Moore helps another Juneau homeless resident wheel her belongings from a makeshift campsite on private property near the airport on July 15. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
‘Dispersed camping’ worked better overall than homeless campground, Assembly members told

Scattered camping sites in Juneau less troublesome than fixed site last year, deputy city manager says.

Lemon Creek voters enter the Alaska Electric Light Power building as polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Juneau voters keep turning out in large numbers as Election Day arrives

“It’s bigger than I’ve ever seen here before,” longtime precinct chair at one voting location says.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

A long line of voters waits Monday at an early voting station at the Mendenhall Mall annex. Voting locations around Juneau will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Election Day in Alaska: When to expect results, and what to look for

First results should be posted online about 9:15 p.m., based on prior schedules.

Voters at Anchorage City Hall wait in line to cast their ballots on Monday, the day before Election Day. City hall, in downtown Anchorage, was one of the designated early voting sites in the state’s largest city; however, it is not an Election Day polling site. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
How to vote in Alaska: Options abound, but the deadline is almost here

In-person, mail, electronic and fax voting still possible on Election Day.

The Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, appears on stage with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., center, and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena on Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
‘Election Day is not results day’: Get ready for a wait to find out who’s president

Some Alaska results may not be known until 15 days after Election Day.

A voter talks to election officials at a early voting station at the State Office Building on Monday. Alaskans, like the rest of the U.S., are casting early ballots at a record pace ahead of Tuesday’s election. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
In longshot scenario of Electoral College tie, winner of Alaska’s House race may pick the next president

By-state vote in House means Peltola or Begich could determine winner; Murkowski’s vote could pick VP.

Most Read