Police killed my friend Steven Kissack. I'm trying to understand why.
Police killed my friend Steven Kissack. I'm trying to understand why.
Sorting out the aftermath of an egregious use-of-force shooting
There was an odd cosmic synchronicity this weekend. Steven Kissack’s 40-day party, or wake, was held yesterday in Marine Park in downtown Juneau, Alaska. I was born, raised, and currently reside in downtown Juneau. Kissack was shot and killed by a group of law enforcement on July 15 a few blocks away from Marine Park on Front Street. The wake was held this Sunday, August 25, which marked the 41st day since Kissack’s untimely death at the age of 35.
The other end of this synchronicity was that I was also counting days this weekend to double-check the number of “working days” since I’d initially filed two records requests with the Juneau Police Department. One of the topics that frequently came up as I ran into Steven downtown involved the nature of the cosmos and space and time. Steven Kissack was one of my favorite kinds of people in that he had the capacity, like a rare orchid, to spring open with a surprising display of the depth of beauty he kept hidden in reserve.
Last Friday, on August 23, the count of working days since I’d filed my first round of requests on July 25 reached the magic number of 21. The Alaska Public Records Act (“APRA”) requires agencies to produce records within ten working days, but allows an additional ten working days if the agency asks for more time. So, this Friday, unless I am greatly mistaken, the Juneau Police Department has begun a new count of time where they have not complied with the law under the statutory requirements of APRA.
Many members of the community here in Juneau have raised concerns about the police’s use of force in the shooting death of Steven Kissack. The incident occurred at the height of the cruise ship tourism season in the downtown business district. There have been short clips of the fatal shooting incident that show a couple of cell phone points of view of the shooting. At least five officers had guns drawn on Steven Kissack, including, bizarrely, an Alaska Wildlife Trooper.
Clip above of shooting incident originally published in the Alaska Landmine. Jeff Landfield is greasier than Randy Bobandy at a cheeseburger picnic.
Community member and an organizer of a protest of the use of force by local law enforcement Bonilyn Parker summarized succinctly why the shooting of Steven Kissack was such an egregious use of force:
I don’t have the answers right now. I don’t have the solutions. But I think we can demand as a community that this be addressed and fixed because the way that this was handled put everybody in town in danger — every visitor, every employee, every person — because bullets entered multiple different businesses during the middle of the day on one of the busiest streets in town.
Clip above originally published on Jeremy Simile’s Facebook.
Today marked the 22nd working day since my records requests on July 25. The Juneau Police Department didn’t even bother to attempt to follow up with me last week as the statutory deadline for their response elapsed. This weekend, I sent in two additional records requests that I had been sitting on until I could review the first two sets of records that I expected to be produced. The Juneau Police Department again didn’t bother to acknowledge receipt of these new requests as is their customary practice.
As a result of the Juneau Police Department’s disregard for APRA and their duty under its terms, I have decided that I need to use other means. To echo Carl von Clausewitz’ famous line about war being a continuation of politics by other means, I have now called upon my local representatives to intercede and exert pressure on the Juneau Police Department to fulfill my requests.
I am incapable of leaving this sort of loose end alone, so it’s not like I am going to forget about it. Curiosity is the common thread between my relationship with Steven Kissack and the fulfillment of these records requests.
For people interested in the details of my records requests and why, based on APRA and related regulations, I think I am entitled to the records, I will reproduce below my email to local assembly members and the Juneau delegation of state legislators. Now that I’m thinking about it, I should probably also send this along to Alaska’s congressional delegation.
One additional detail I’d like to provide for context here is that the records I am requesting are easily reproducable by JPD. I happen to have worked in the City Prosecutor’s office as well as the Public Defender Agency earlier in my career, so I worked closely with JPD for many years and know their internal records system intimately well.
All I am asking for is police reports, for which I provided case numbers, and a body camera video which was previously available online. I am confident that both my requests could be completed within an hour of staff time at the most. This includes reviewing and redacting the police reports as the only potential redactions involve identifying information like social security numbers of third parties involved in Steven Kissack’s cases. Given that most of the cases are minor offense violations for unlawful camping and similar ticketable offenses, I would guess that most the reports don’t even list complaining witnesses or anyone besides Kissack himself.
Good afternoon,
I have attempted to obtain records relating to the use of force by the Juneau Police Department generally and also specific records relating to Steven Kissack who was shot last month in downtown Juneau. I have so far not had any success and it has been more than 20 working days since the first of my requests last month.
Based on my understanding of the Alaska Public Records Act, 2 AAC 96.325 (the regulations that specify time limits for public records requests) and the municipal code, I believe the JPD is not following the law regarding my requests and I am trying to resolve this issue. I am asking for you, my local representatives, to intercede and apply pressure for JPD to comply with the statutory requirements.
The summary of my requests is that on July 25 I submitted a request for police reports for Steven Kissack's minor offense and criminal cases listed on CourtView. I have not attempted to request any materials which I believe would not be available based on the exceptions listed in AS 40.25.120, so I have not requested body camera footage or police reports of the July 15, 2024 shooting of Mr. Kissack.
I submitted a second request on July 25 for the body camera footage of the 12/29/2019 officer-involved shooting of Kelly Stephens. This material was previously available and posted online by JPD, but their website indicated that the video was now archived and needed to be requested via public records request. (Link to JPD website information release on Stephens shooting: https://juneau.org/police/oisinformationrelease?fbclid=IwAR36XzfwHO3YWHltTGPOHSXEe5jglz9LGJasEhEEae2SnFrmSZzD6E3Aa3Q)
On August 9, I received the following email from the JPD Records Unit:
I have reviewed your request and it has been forwarded to the Office of the Chief for further review. Once I have further information from their office I will get back in touch with you. Please let me know if you have any questions.
I believe this response was deficient in a number of ways, but at the time I decided it would not be productive to attempt to raise these issues as it might further delay my requests and also I was aware that there was likely no administrative remedy available. To briefly summarize the problems I saw:
The response came on the 11th working day after my initial request which does not comply with the requirements in 2 AAC 96.325(a) to furnish records "not later than the 10th working day after the agency receives a request for public records." To illustrate the elapsed working days, which begin running on the day after the request is received, I have included an annotated calendar below:
Under 2 AAC 96.325(d), "A public agency may extend the basic 10-working-day period established under (a) of this section for a period not to exceed 10 additional working days by providing notice to the requester within the basic 10-working-day period." As I mentioned above, I believe this extension came outside of the required time period, but the extension also did not comply with further requirements listed in 2 AAC 96.325(d) including that the notice must include "the date by which the office expects to be able to furnish the requested records or to determine the records are not disclosable."
2 AAC 96.325(d) also requires the agency to state "that the extension is not invoked for the purposes of delay." On August 19, I received this follow-up email from the Records Unit:
I have received approval from the Chief’s Office to proceed with both of your requests. This week I will work on locating and reviewing the relevant case material and will attempt to provide you with cost estimate for the review, redaction, and production of these records by Friday (I will ensure the information is split out by request). I will be in touch if I am not able to get that to you before then. Please let me know if you have any questions.
I did not hear back from the Records Unit on Friday, so I emailed them asking for information letting me know when the records would be available and letting them know I believed they had exceeded the 20-working-day limit. I also said that I did not consent to any further extension of the time limit and questioned why the records were not located during the initial 10-working-day window. After all, how would the chief be able to evaluate my requests without the records in question? Thus, I believe it is likely the extension was for the purposes of delay, and, even assuming that it wasn't, there was no statement from JPD regarding this issue as required.
According to the requirements in 2 AAC 96.360(d), "The basic 10-working -day period may be extended only when one or more of the following circumstances exist," and then the following five circumstances are listed, none of which include that the request needs to be reviewed by the Office of the Chief or similar language:
(1) there is a need to search for and collect the requested records from field or other offices that are separate from the office responsible for maintaining the records;
(2) there is a need to search for, collect, and examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records sought in a single request;
(3) there is a need for consultation with an officer or employee who is absent on approved leave or official business;
(4) the basic response period comes during a peak workload period; or
(5) there is a need to consult with legal counsel to ensure that protected interests of private or government persons or entities are not infringed.
Finally, I received the following email this [Monday] morning in response to my inquiry on Friday as to why my records requests were not being processed within the statutory framework:
I appreciate your patience as we work through this process and am empathetic to your concerns. I would like to let you know that we typically have 5 full-time staff in this unit and are currently down to just 2. I am working towards your request as quickly as I can, but I can only do so much myself. Bear in mind that your request is not the only record request, or task, that we have to perform. Please be assured that your multiple requests are a priority for me to review this week so that I can provide you with the necessary estimates.
I typically try to assume good faith and am a subscriber to Hanlon's Razor. I don't assume malice here, but I also am not equipped to resolve the potential administrative issues at JPD. I would like the records I have requested which I believe I am entitled to and it will only cause further administrative issues at JPD if they are not forthcoming. To wit, I have now submitted additional records requests that I was holding in reserve until I had a chance to review the initial round of requests because I am concerned that these delays may continue.
I would appreciate your help and ask that you or your offices intercede on my behalf to produce these records in a timely fashion based on the law and regulations that apply.
Thank you for your time,
Leo
I'm so sorry for your loss, Leo. Thank you for pushing for transparency.
Will Muldoon has a history with JPD and apra/foia requests, you should talk to him about it as they've been less than cooperative with him as well.