Update, 5:40 p.m, Thursday:
A Juneau woman was shot and killed by a Juneau Police officer in the parking lot of the Mendenhall Valley Breeze In convenience store early Christmas morning.
In a news release shared Thursday evening, the Juneau Police Department identified the woman as 30-year-old Juneau resident Ashley Rae Johnston.
Kaia Quinto, the executive director of Juneau Housing First Collaborative, said Johnston frequented the homeless shelter just half a mile away from the scene.
According to the release, three officers responded to the parking lot of the Mendenhall Valley Breeze In at about 5:25 a.m. Wednesday morning when Johnston was allegedly wielding a hatchet, screaming and threatening people. Police say she refused to comply when officers ordered her to put the hatchet down.
According to police, an officer then tased Johnston before she advanced toward the officers with a hatchet and an officer shot her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The names of the officers involved have not been released. They have been placed on administrative leave per department policy. The news release says the department will release the names after the officers are interviewed by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.
Deputy Police Chief Krag Campbell said the department plans to release police body camera footage to the public, but said it’s too early on in the investigation to say when that will be.
The department’s current policies do not provide a timeline for when body camera footage is released to the public. But, that’s something residents asked for after a July incident where police shot and killed 35-year-old Steven Kissack downtown. The state’s Office of Special Prosecutions later cleared all officers involved of any criminal charges.
After the July shooting, Campbell said the department planned to review and potentially revise its policies on body cameras in the next few months. No changes to policies have happened since then.
Campbell said the department plans to share more information about the incident as the investigation continues.
“The Juneau Police Department really wants to be as transparent as possible during these types of incidents, because we do understand there’s a large amount of public interest in them,” he said. “We are dedicated in being transparent, as well as just balancing the need to do a thorough investigation.”
Following an investigation of the incident by the Alaska Bureau of Investigations, the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions will determine whether the officer was justified in the use of lethal force or will face any criminal charges.
Original story:
A woman is dead after an altercation with police in the Mendenhall Valley early Christmas morning.
A release from the Juneau Police Department says it is investigating the death. The woman has not been identified. The department did not specify whether an on-duty officer shot and killed the unnamed woman.
At the scene at about 9 a.m., Juneau Police Commander Nick Garza said he had little information to share at the time.
“At this point, we’re still collecting information, collecting evidence,” he said. “We will be putting out a more detailed press release once we collect evidence here at the scene and are able to talk to witnesses and everybody involved.”
Garza said no one else was injured in the incident, but did not know how many officers were involved.
In a text message, Deputy Police Chief Krag Campbell wrote that the incident took place around 5:30 a.m. He said more information would be released later Wednesday. Police Chief Derek Bos is out of town.
Police blocked off Glacier Highway Christmas morning from the McNugget Intersection to Jordan Creek Center and Trout Street for the investigation. Yellow tape surrounded the area around the Mendenhall Valley Breeze In. The woman’s body was surrounded by cones and covered with a black blanket in the parking lot.
“This is going to be blocked off until we’re done collecting evidence and processing the scene,” Garza said. “I would expect it to be a couple more hours at least, bare minimum.”
This is the second police shooting fatality in Juneau this year. Police shot and killed 35-year-old Steven Kissack on July 15. The state’s Office of Special Prosecutions cleared all officers involved of any criminal charges related to his death.
This is a developing story and may be updated again.
