On Tuesday night, Resurrection Lutheran Church held a vigil for Steven Kissack, who was shot and killed by law enforcement downtown on Monday. Kissack was unhoused, and he and his fluffy dog Juno were familiar faces to those who live and work in the neighborhood.
The pews filled immediately with community members reflecting on what happened and wondering how to move forward. One at a time, people approached the altar to sit on a couch and share what they were carrying in the wake of Kissack’s death.
One woman placed a stuffed husky toy on the table next to the mic. It’s a symbol for Juno.
Barbara Charles said she would bring food for Kissack, who would often offer the first bit to his dog. To Charles, the gesture was a mark of Kissack’s character. A lot of people mentioned something similar about his love for Juno.
“Knowing how kind Steve was, it hurts. It hurts bad,” Charles said.
She called upon the city to find a place for people without stable housing to go that is safe and private.
“You’re always kicking them out with no place to go,” she said.
And Kissack’s death changed how she views this city.
“Sorry to say I grew up here from day one. I’m 79,” she said. “I’m sorry — I’m ashamed. I’m really ashamed to say I’m from Juneau these past two days.”
Rowena Brockway struggled with homelessness in the past. She told the audience that at every turn when she tried to seek help, conventional policing failed her.
“They need behavioral health response teams. They need to stop killing people and aiming for their torso,” she said.
Dozens of people witnessed the incident, which took place around 1 p.m. on one of Juneau’s busiest streets. Many more watched the cellphone videos circulating online. There are a few of them, from different angles.
In the videos, officers demand Kissack drop the object he’s holding — police say it was a knife — and deploy non-lethal projectiles. And then he suddenly turns to run, and multiple officers open fire.
Like many of the speakers, Brockway said she doesn’t understand why the responding officers didn’t use alternative tactics, instead of shooting.
“They could have restrained him, cuffed him, and taken him to the appropriate services. Not jail,” she said. “Where’s the so-called training they get? It’s supposed to be ‘protect and serve,’ not ‘comply or die.’”
Police say an officer first approached Kissack about an alleged assault that took place the day before. When he didn’t cooperate, the officer called in backup.
Nicole Church sat with her mother at the front of the room. She said her sister currently doesn’t have a place to live, and she herself also experienced homelessness as a child.
“I’ve come to learn that there are a lot of stereotypes about the houseless community. Dangerous stereotypes. Very dangerous stereotypes,” Church said. “One being that the houseless community are dangerous people. And statistically speaking, there is empirical evidence that we are more dangerous to the houseless community than they are to us.”
Kissack was a member of the community in Juneau, Church said, and his killing has left the town reeling.
“I think a lot of us are here too, because what happened yesterday was murder. It happened on video. We all got to see it. So there was a collective trauma that we are experiencing,” she said.
Pastor Karen Perkins has known Kissack for five years. He would regularly come to the food pantry at the church.
“And then I would see him on the street a lot of times, if we have things left over from the food pantry. I knew he was a person who shared,” Perkins said. “And it was pretty easy to know where to find him so we could bring him stuff and know that he would get it distributed.”
She said Kissack would humanize the unhoused community in Juneau, by being consistently kind, friendly, and memorable. And his dog also helped. Many people were concerned about Juno’s fate after his death. She’s at Juneau Animal Rescue, where staff say she’s being well cared for as they contact Kissack’s family.
Perkins said she didn’t expect that he would be the victim of violence, but she isn’t surprised that something like this happened.
“Steven would have been the last person in the world that I ever would have imagined that it would be,” she said. “But something was bound to happen, because people don’t have a lot of choices — any choices sometimes.”
Two friends helped Evangeline Jeannie Lee up to the podium. She said she almost didn’t come, but she wanted to sing for Kissack. He always looked out for her — for anyone who was living outside.
“He’s been a good friend to us for a long time and I just couldn’t believe it, that God’s taking care of him now. So I want to sing How Great Thou Art.”
The officers involved in Kissack’s death are on administrative leave. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation will determine whether the use of lethal force in Kissack’s death was necessary.
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