The two law enforcement officers who fired lethal shots at Steven Kissack said he was running with a knife at a third officer unable to defend himself because he was holding a non-lethal bean bean bag launcher that had fired all of its rounds, according to a letter by the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions released this week that states the July 15 shooting was legally justified.
The 24-page letter dated Sept. 10 includes a detailed summary of the circumstances leading to the confrontation between Kissack and five officers on a downtown street, what happened during the confrontation and shooting, the results of an autopsy and other tests on Kissack, and interviews with the officers by state investigators.
The investigation, standard procedure by the office for all officer-involved shootings, was to determine if criminal charges were warranted against Alaska Wildlife Trooper Sgt. Branden Forst and/or Juneau Police Department Sgt. Christopher Gifford for firing the fatal shots.
“When Mr. Kissack, with the knife still in hand, quickly moved towards an officer who attempted to retreat, it was objectively reasonable for Sgt. Forst and Sgt. Gifford to believe that he posed an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury to that officer, and other officers and civilians,” the letter by Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor states. “It was also reasonable to believe that Mr. Kissack presented a danger to others if he was not arrested or stopped. Filing criminal charges against either Sgt. Gifford or Sgt. Forst is, therefore, inappropriate.”
The state office has investigated more than 150 officer-involved shootings since 2010, none of which have resulted in criminal charges against the officers.
Kissack, 35, who lived on Juneau’s streets for several years with his dog Juno, was known to many local residents and his death prompted widespread reaction from people questioning the police’s actions and the circumstances allowing his prolonged unhoused existence.
Besides Forst and Gifford, three additional JPD officers were involved in the fatal confrontation with Kissack. All of the JPD officers told investigators they were familiar with Kissack and had interactions with him that had been troubling at times.
Bodycam footage from the JPD officers, plus a cellphone video shot from a rooftop by a witness, were released by the department Tuesday evening.
At the moment of the shooting Kissack was holding a knife while running toward JPD Officer Terry Allen, who had just hit Kissack with three less-lethal bean bag projectiles without having a notable effect on him, Gifford told investigators, according to the state’s letter.
“Officer Allen did not have another 40 mm round loaded and that he also did not have his firearm or any other weapon drawn and available for immediate use,” a summary of Gifford’s statements notes. “He said Mr. Kissack was holding the knife the way someone who was going to use a knife in a fight would hold it. Sgt. Gifford believed that Mr. Kissack was going to stab Officer Allen unless Sgt. Gifford discharged his firearm at Mr. Kissack.”
Kissack was shot twice in the torso with bullets that did not exit his body and once in his left leg, and officers at the scene who saw the torso wounds applied chest seals to them, according to the letter. That suggests he was not shot in the back.
An autopsy shows Kissack died of the torso wounds that “perforated most of his major organs.”
Four .40 caliber shell casings from Gifford’s gun and two .308 casings from Forst’s gun were recovered at the scene, which is consistent with the number of shots each officer said he fired, according to the letter. Two nearby vehicles and two nearby businesses were damaged by either bullets or fragments of bullets that had been shattered by an impact.
Toxicology results showed Kissack had methamphetamine, THC, amphetamine and alcohol in his system, which “are consistent with Mr. Kissack’s demeanor towards the officers, as well as the fact that Mr. Kissack had little to no reaction when multiple ‘less lethal’ 40-mm rounds struck him,” according to the letter.
The precursor to the encounter was an assault the previous morning in which Kissack was the suspect. Gifford, who responded to that incident, saw Kissack that afternoon, but rather than approach him alone consulted with supervisors.
“They decided that the best course of action would be to call the night shift into work early so that a larger team could be assembled to locate and apprehend Mr. Kissack,” the state’s letter notes. “Given his knowledge of Mr. Kissack’s history, Sgt. Gifford included a negotiator and a de-escalation specialist as part of the team, with a member of Animal Control on standby to take care of Mr. Kissack’s dog if Mr. Kissack was apprehended.”
Efforts to locate Kissack were unsuccessful. JPD Officer Lee Phelps would spot Kissack sitting in a doorway on Front Street at about 1:10 p.m. July 15, which started as a calm discussion before escalating after about five minutes. The letter notes that shortly after Kissack stood and started threatening Phelps while holding a knife, the officer was on the verge of shooting Kissack before other officers arrived.
“Officer Phelps told investigators that prior to Officer (Tim) Kissner’s arrival, he believed Mr. Kissack was about to try and stab him, based on the way Mr. Kissack was advancing towards him with the knife,” the letter states. “Officer Phelps explained that, due to this perceived threat, he had taken the slack out of his trigger, pointed it at Mr. Kissack’s chest, and was just about to shoot when Mr. Kissack turned away, seemingly distracted by Officer Kissner’s sirens.”
Two friends of Kissack’s were nearby, both of whom tried at points during the standoff to talk him down, the letter notes. One was a woman who, after Kissack was fatally shot, ran toward him crying and cursing the officers, and was roughly thrown to the ground as other officers assessed if Kissack was still alive.
The letter, in a footnote, states the purpose of the investigation was to determine if criminal charges were warranted against Gifford and Forst, not evaluate broader issues related to the incident.
“OSP does not review these cases for policy violations or a determination of whether a law enforcement officer’s conduct is appropriate under any applicable use-of-force policies,” the letter states. “OSP also expresses no opinion as to the general appropriateness of any AST or JPD policies, including use-of-force policies.”
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
