Two incidents this week led to police officers being assaulted, according to Juneau Police Department reports and a press release.
At about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, JPD officers responded to a report of yelling from a residence in the Juneau area, according to JPD Public Safety Manager Erann Kalwara. Officers, according to the police report, found a 48-year-old man outside the home who was holding a metal pipe and a large stick.
The man refused to put down his weapons, police say, and he ended up throwing his metal pipe at the officers. The officers Tased the man, arrested him and took him to Lemon Creek Correctional Center, according to the police report. Alcohol was a factor, according to JPD’s daily dispatches. Kalwara said there was officers were not physically injured in this altercation.
At about 1:30 a.m. Friday, according to a JPD press release, a caller reported to JPD that there was loud yelling and gunfire in the area of Fourth and Harris streets. This is the same area where shots were fired in the early morning hours of June 18. No injuries or arrests were reported in that incident.
[No injuries, arrests after downtown altercation leads to gunfire]
In this Friday morning’s incident, Kalwara said, officers who arrived on the scene found that the sounds were coming from fireworks and not guns. According to the press release, officers were in the process of issuing a citation to a 49-year-old man for disturbing the peace when 33-year-old Kelly Stephens came out of a nearby home and began yelling at the officers. Lt. Krag Campbell did not specify the address of the home.
Officers never ended up finishing their citation to the 49-year-old man, according to the release, because they turned their attention to Stephens. While they were arresting Stephens, police say, two more people from the same home came outside and approached the officers. These people were identified as Felicia Evenson, 29, and David Fuchs, 41, and Evenson was “screaming at (officers) and acting aggressive,” according to the release.
Evenson refused to back away from the officers, according to the release, so officers Tased her and arrested both her and Stephens. Fuchs then came up to the officers and was getting in their way as they were trying to finish their investigation, according to the release.
Officers asked Fuchs to back away and Fuchs refused, police say, and they said they were going to search him for weapons if he didn’t move away. Fuchs reached for his pocket at that point, according to the release, and officers Tased him. They handcuffed Fuchs and searched him, according to the release, finding a knife and another sharp metal object in his pants pockets.
One officer was hurt in the scuffle, but Campbell said Friday that the injuries were minor and the officer is fine. The officer’s pants were damaged, Campbell said.
Stephens was charged with one count of assaulting an officer, one count of resisting arrest, one count of interfering and one count of criminal mischief, according to the police report. Evenson was charged with one count of interfering and one count of violating conditions of release. Fuchs was charged with one count of interfering.
The three of them, according to the release, were arrested and taken to LCCC. Alcohol appears to have been a factor, police say.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
