Siblings of Juneau man killed by police demand answers

The family of a man who was shot and killed by law enforcement in Juneau in July say they’re still waiting for answers. 

Jason, Monty and Dawn Kissack arrived from Florida last week for a memorial to honor their brother, Steven Kissack. Steven was unhoused, and lived on the streets of downtown Juneau for several years with his malamute, Juno. 

Monty Kissack, Steven’s older brother, said they want to know why he was killed, and to make sure that the officers involved in the incident are held accountable. 

“We’re not going to let it go away. We will keep talking about it, until something is done,” he said. 

Monty was 8 years old when Steven was born. They grew up near Tampa Bay, Fla. 

“He was the youngest. We always carried him around with us, everywhere we went,” oldest brother Jason Kissack said.

Steven was a calm, smart kid who loved animals, Jason Kissack said. He was reserved, but he loved to debate with his older brothers. He told them he wanted to go to Alaska, where he could be outside and be free. He lived on a boat in Juneau for a while before he couldn’t keep up with the bills.

The Juneau Police Department says Steven Kissack threatened officers with a knife and made verbal threats before he was shot on July 15. The incident took place on a downtown street in the middle of the day, with dozens of witnesses. It’s still under investigation by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation. 

Since his brother’s death, Jason Kissack said he’s been calling the bureau and the state Office of Special Prosecutions, but he’s only received sparse details about what happened.

“We want the information. We want it all,” Jason Kissack said. “We’re just being left in the dark.”

Dawn Kissack said she wants to see the police body camera footage. They’ve watched the videos taken by bystanders dozens of times.

She had been trying to get in touch with her brother last month when she learned from a social worker in Juneau that something had happened. Then, her kids started looking online.

“You shouldn’t hear about your baby brother dying from social media,” she said.

The Kissacks say the videos were tough to watch. But they are glad they exist, because they want to know exactly what happened. They still don’t understand why he was killed.

The five officers involved — four from the Juneau Police Department and an Alaska Wildlife Trooper — were placed on administrative leave after the incident. They’re now back on duty.  

“If somebody in the public shoots somebody, we get arrested, we have to go to jail. We have to bond ourselves out if we’re given a bond, and then we have to go back to court so that we prove our innocence … we have to prove that what we did was justified,” Dawn Kissack said. “I want the same thing for those cops. They need to be held to higher standards than we as citizens are held.” 

Dawn and her brothers have received messages from many people in Juneau who knew Steven. It’s helped to know that he was so loved here, she said. 

“We miss him, you know?” Dawn Kissack said. “And we always wanted him to come back, but this was his home. You know, he didn’t have a home with walls, but Juneau was his home, and the people of Juneau were his family too, and we couldn’t have dragged him away from here.”

The memorial was held Sunday at Marine Park at 1 p.m., led by Pastor Karen Perkins and local organization Haa Tóoch Lichéesh. The memorial was set to be livestreamed and recorded by Resurrection Lutheran Church.