Former JPD officer Brandon LeBlanc says his actions were justified as state opts not to file criminal charges
- Mark Sabbatini
- Oct 14
- 9 min read
LeBlanc, seen on video making a violent arrest, says he resigned under duress to retain his $30,000 signing bonus and make seeking a new job easier
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Brandon LeBlanc says he acted properly and the harsh public criticism aimed at him by local leaders makes it less likely other police officers will be willing to stay at the Juneau Police Department. Meanwhile, he’s back in Louisiana looking for a new job and doesn’t think the violent arrest that led to his forced resignation will be a serious obstacle.
"In Louisiana, this is like a regular Friday night," he said during a phone interview Tuesday, referring to the July 30 confrontation that became a public controversy when a citizen's video of it was distributed widely.
When asked to elaborate, LeBlanc said "people resisting and getting arrested, fighting the police and going to jail, that type of thing that happens all the time down here."
LeBlanc’s career with JPD ended after he was seen throwing Christopher Williams Jr. onto a sidewalk outside the Douglas Public Library on July 30, causing head injuries that knocked Williams unconscious and resulted in him being flown to an Anchorage hospital for treatment of skull injuries. City and tribal government leaders quickly issued statements denouncing the incident, and LeBlanc resigned at JPD’s request on Aug. 28, one day before bodycam and dashboard camera video of the encounter was released publicly.
No criminal charges against LeBlanc are being sought due to his actions, the Alaska Department of Law announced in a letter last Friday. The report follows a JPD investigation that stated LeBlanc used a restraint technique not taught by the department. Juneau Police Chief Derek Bos subsequently told the Juneau Assembly on Sept. 29 that LeBlanc is "a good officer who made a very bad mistake on that day."
LeBlanc, a 17-year law enforcement veteran, joined JPD in August of 2024. He was a defendant in an excessive force lawsuit involving a 2013 traffic stop by multiple officers in Louisiana, but was acquitted by a jury. Bos — when asked by the Assembly if LeBlanc’s background was known when hiring him — said the verdict suggested he "did his job and did it well" in that instance.
But Bos, in an interview Tuesday, said while criminal charges aren’t being sought against LeBlanc in the July incident, that doesn’t mean his actions were proper.
"He didn't do anything wrong criminally, according to the state; that still does not align with our values as a police department and how we as police should interact with our community," Bos said. "I think those are two distinctly different things. And, yes, officers absolutely need to defend themselves when it's appropriate. And I think that's the key thing — is when it's appropriate."
LeBlanc: "It just feels like the city just ripped everything away from me"
LeBlanc said he stayed in Juneau for about a month after he resigned, but doesn’t expect to return to Alaska despite being exonerated in the state’s criminal investigation.
"It was a great community," he said about moving to Juneau. "My kids loved it. We loved everything about it. We love the outdoor living. We love the saltwater fishing. We love the crabbing. It just feels like the city just ripped everything away from me."
Among the criticisms expressed by community leaders and residents after the encounter with Williams, who is Alaska Native, is it symbolizes a broader pattern of discrimination by JPD officers. LeBlanc, noting he came from a highly diverse area, said the incident was neither racial nor personal.
"I come from New Orleans — I don't have a racist bone in my body," he said. "I don't even know who that guy was. I've worked with every ethnic culture you could think of. I don't even think that way. I wasn't raised that way."
Bos, in his report and remarks to the Assembly, said JPD is working on both training adjustments and planning community meetings with the intent of improving interactions with tribal citizens in Juneau. He reiterated those goals for the community at large on Tuesday.
"We as a department are really committed to healing and rebuilding the trust in our community moving forward, and that's really our focus, and I think that's been our theme throughout all of this event," he said.
LeBlanc said he submitted a forced resignation to JPD instead of being fired in part because it simplifies the process of seeking another job, without "having to sit up and wait for a couple of years to go through all this litigation to try to clear my name." He said another reason he agreed to resign was a stipulation that he could keep the signing bonus offered by JPD.
"So that was $30,000 that I didn't have to pay back," he said.
The original employment agreement with LeBlanc called for repayment of the bonus on a pro-rated basis during a four-year period — meaning giving back roughly three-fourths of the amount after only a year of employment, Bos said. But he said JPD agreed not to seek repayment as part of an effort to move beyond the matter quickly.
"It's really important to understand that this incident was very hard on not only our community, but our department, and moving on from it is key," he said. "We want to make sure that we have a path forward towards healing. And I think his resignation was part of that healing path."
LeBlanc said while he isn’t worried about getting another job in Louisiana, he suspects it might be hard for JPD to retain officers because of the criticism he received as a result of the incident that led to his departure. Specifically, Bos criticized a bear-hug technique LeBlanc used, in which he grabbed Williams from behind while his arms were pinned, and pulled him to the sidewalk where his head hit the cement.
"This is something that he learned elsewhere," Bos told the Assembly, noting the officer didn’t learn it from JPD or the state police training academy in Sitka.
LeBlanc said making such judgments remotely and retroactively fails to take into account the immediacy of an encounter.
"When you're in a situation, no matter what it is, if you feel like your life is in danger, if you need to use force of any kind, you make a split-second decision," he said. "You're not going to sit there in your head and say, ‘OK, he did this — so should I do this?’ ‘Oh no, wait, he did this — let me do this.’ ‘Oh no, wait — I can't do that because the policy says not to, I’ve got to do this.’ It doesn't work that way. Our brains do not work that way."
Trying to alter training to impose such requirements and taking action against officers who fail to comply "goes against police one-on-one" common sense, LeBlanc said.
"If you do that you’re going to have so many police officers leave that department that they're not even going to have one," he said.
Bos said he has a different perception of Juneau and its police officers.
"I think Juneau is a small community, and we live and work with the people that we are interacting with every day as police officers," he said. "I do think that carries with it a higher level of respect for our community and for the people we're interacting with, and I think that's a higher standard for us."
Department of Law declines to seek criminal charges
Extensive public scrutiny of the incident between LeBlanc and Williams has already occurred because of the four official JPD videos and one bystander video that have been posted online. The state’s 12-page letter to Bos provides an extensive narrative of the incident, subsequent interviews with persons involved, and legal considerations in declining to seek criminal charges against LeBlanc.
The report notes the incident began with a confrontation between Williams’ fiancée, Marisa Didrickson, and Ibn Bailey, who would end up filming the video later circulated online. Witnesses told police Didrickson was acting aggressively toward Bailey and then told Williams "take care of him" (referring to Bailey) after she was detained by police.
LeBlanc moved to arrest Williams after he resisted orders to depart the scene, resulting in the crucial moment of the confrontation in front of a patrol car.
"Officer LeBlanc was able to get partial control over Mr. Williams’ left hand, but the in-car video (ICV) camera footage shows that Mr. Williams appeared to be putting his left hand on the push bar of the vehicle for leverage to push against Officer LeBlanc," the Department of Law letter states. "Mr. Williams’ right hand can be seen on the ICV positioned under Mr. Williams’ body at chest level; it is possible that Mr. Williams’ hand is pinned underneath him due to the weight of the two men, but at times it appears that Mr. Williams is pushing his right hand on the hood of the vehicle as additional leverage to push against Officer LeBlanc. The view from Officer LeBlanc’s BWC is blocked by Mr. Williams’ back and does not capture the positioning of Mr. Williams’ hands. It is also likely that from the officer’s vantage point behind Mr. Williams, that Officer LeBlanc could not have seen where Mr. Williams’ right hand was, or what, if anything, he was doing with it."
The report also describes the takedown, as seen in the video shot by Bailey.
"Officer LeBlanc conducted a takedown by wrapping Mr. Williams’ torso with his arms and then pulling Mr. Williams backwards, using Officer LeBlanc’s weight to pull Mr. Williams with him to the ground," the report states. "Officer LeBlanc fell backwards first, landing mostly on the left side of his body while still holding Mr. Williams. Officer LeBlanc then quickly rolled to the left side of his body. Mr. Williams landed on the ground to the left of the officer’s body; as he fell, Mr. Williams’ head audibly and visibly hit the pavement and he was immediately rendered unconscious."
LeBlanc, in a Department of Law interview, said Williams was “actively resisting, pulling, pulling and pulling, and pushing and prodding," according to the report. Also, the LeBlanc said "he had control ‘somewhat’ over Mr. Williams’ left arm, but Mr. Williams was pulling and would not fully give Officer LeBlanc control over his hands."
"Officer LeBlanc described the takedown technique he used as one that has been taught to him several times over the course of his law enforcement career," the report states. "He described the execution of the takedown in this incident as ‘technically sound,’ in that Officer LeBlanc’s hip and shoulder hit the ground first. Officer LeBlanc explained that the maneuver is designed for him to land first, with the suspect landing on top of him. Officer LeBlanc said he did not intend for what happened to Mr. Williams to occur, and that while he has performed the technique ‘more times than I can count,’ he had never previously had a result occur like what happened to Mr. Williams."
The report states comments by LeBlanc, including the remark "walking now, huh?” to an unconscious Williams after he was on the sidewalk, "do call into question whether Officer LeBlanc was motivated by something other than just the belief he needed to arrest Mr. Williams."
"However, based on the totality of the circumstances, including Mr. Williams’ resistance and apparent active struggle against Officer LeBlanc’s attempts to handcuff him; the officer’s knowledge that Mr. Williams had not been patted down and his concern that Mr. Williams might be armed; and his subsequent desire to handcuff Mr. Williams quickly so a pat search could be conducted — it is likely that the State would not be able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Officer LeBlanc was not justified in using nondeadly force for the purposes of making an arrest or stop in this instance."
State opposes Juneau’s 30-day release of bodycam footage
The Department of Law report also notes that its investigators, as well as the state Department of Public Safety, asked the City and Borough of Juneau not to release the JPD video footage of the incident. The release occurred due to the Assembly passing a policy stating such footage would be released within 30 days of incidents involving "use of deadly force that results in serious physical injury or death."
The letter states releasing the footage jeopardized the ability to conduct an impartial investigation — and if necessary a fair trial — due to public reaction to the video as well as statements being made by public officials.
"The decision to release the camera footage over the objection of AST and LAW, particularly after (CBJ) requested DPS’s assistance, appears to indicate a lack of a serious intent to allow for an independent review of the potential criminal charges in this matter," the report states. "It may also impact the analysis in future cases. LAW again urges CBJ to reconsider its policy on releasing body-worn camera footage and related context before a determination has been made on whether to pursue a criminal prosecution."
Bos said that JPD doesn’t intend to ask the city to reconsider the 30-day release policy. He said similar policies exist elsewhere in the U.S. "and it's been navigated by other attorneys quite well."
"Our goal is transparency with our community and I think that that was accomplished," he said.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
