At 7:32 p.m. on July 30, 2025, Juneau police officers arrested 47-year-old Marisa Didrickson for throwing water in the face of a 52-year-old black man and insulting him with racial slurs. According to Juneau Police Department (JPD)’s information release, Didrickson told bystander Christopher Williams, Jr. to “take care of him,” nodding to the 52-year-old man she had assaulted.
Officer LeBlanc’s body camera footage showed the following interaction: Officer Brandon LeBlanc pushed Williams down the sidewalk, saying “go before you go to jail too.” Williams then turned around and said, “Don’t do that.” LeBlanc then told Williams he was going to jail, too, and attempted to arrest him, repeatedly ordering him to put his hands behind his back. Williams resisted arrest, repeatedly saying, “I was walking.” LeBlanc warned, “You are about to get slammed” and, after Williams continued to resist, Officer LeBlanc took him to the ground, snidely remarking, “walking now huh? What’d I tell you?” Williams lost consciousness when his head hit the concrete, and later he was medevacked to Seattle.
Public outcry ensued after a witness posted a video of Officer LeBlanc’s use of force. Juneau residents gathered in protest of police violence on August 2. Williams plans to sue the Juneau Police Department.
Officer LeBlanc was immediately put on administrative leave while the department investigated the issue. On Aug. 25, JPD released LeBlanc’s body camera footage from the event and publicly announced its disapproval of LeBlanc’s actions. LeBlanc resigned the day before the footage was released.
JPD Chief of Police Derek Bos stated:“What happened on July 30 was not consistent with department policy, values or the conduct we expect from our officers.”
On Sept 29, Police Chief Derek Bos released a memorandum detailing the department’s increased effort to better train officers in de-escalation techniques and to avoid the use of force. According to Bos: “To summarize, JPD has spent a significant amount of time in the last two months looking at ourselves in the “mirror”. As with most introspective processes, the dominant question is “Do I like what I see?” … We would be remiss to believe there is no room for growth, for there is; however, as we reflect, it is clear that JPD continues to set the standard for policing.”
LeBlanc’s case was sent to the Office of Special Prosecutions (OSP) for review. According to a press release by Alaska’s Department of Law on Oct. 10: “After a review of the evidence in the case, including the independent investigation conducted by the Alaska State Troopers’ Alaska Bureau of Investigation, and an analysis of the applicable law, OSP determined it would not criminally charge Officer LeBlanc for the incident.”
Despite public outcry and JPD’s denouncement of LeBlanc’s actions, Officer LeBlanc will not be held accountable in criminal court.
