Clarise Larson

In this newscast:

The Alaska Marine Highway System ferry LeConte will continue to be out of service leading into the weekend.

The ferry, which services Southeast Alaska communities, was moored in Juneau because of engine trouble last weekend. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ staff said they hoped to have the ferry up and running by Thursday. However, spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said Thursday that it still needs some work. 

“Our mechanics are working around the clock to get that fixed,” she said. “Unfortunately, we are confident that we will not be able to get the ship back in the water and get the U.S. Coast Guard approvals in time for Friday’s sailing. So we are canceling that.”

The ferry began experiencing engine loss and other mechanical issues last weekend when traveling from Hoonah to Kake. Ferry staff decided to have it towed to Juneau for repairs. The service disruption left many on the ship stuck in Juneau, including the Kake City Schools cross-country team. 

McCarthy said the department is offering refunds or rebooking affected passengers on the MV Hubbard or a private catamaran, but it cannot provide transportation for vehicles.

Alaska Marine Highway staff scrambled to fix the ferry before the start of the Klondike Road Relay on Friday. Many runners in Juneau and Haines rely on the LeConte to transport their teams and vehicles to Skagway for the start of the race. 

“As vessels age, they require a lot more TLC,” McCarthy said. “We do try to get anything fixed when they’re in for their normal service in the shipyard, but because vessels are older, some unforeseen circumstances will happen.”

McCarthy said the department plans to share another update on the vessel’s status on Saturday.

An Italian man is missing after falling into a hole in the ice on the Mendenhall Glacier on Tuesday. Juneau search and rescue responders have called off the search.

The Alaska State Troopers have not named the man and are working to connect with his family. 

According to troopers, the man was on the glacier Tuesday afternoon with two travel companions. Troopers did not say where on the glacier they were, but a dispatch says the man initially fell into a stream and was pushed by the rushing water into the hole in the ice. The people with him said they couldn’t see him after that. 

Juneau Mountain Rescue attempted to locate him, but found the hole was filled with rushing water. They decided it would be too dangerous to try to locate the man.

At least three people have died in the backcountry around Juneau this summer. On Saturday, an Arizona resident was reported missing and his body was discovered on Monday near the Mendenhall Glacier. He is believed to have died from injuries suffered during a fall.  

This story has been updated to reflect that officials did not say why the man was on the glacier. 

Search and rescue responders have located the body of a Juneau hiker who was reported missing after he did not return from a hike this weekend.

Responders located the body of 69-year-old Arizona resident Thomas Casey near the Mendenhall Glacier on Monday morning, according to Alaska State Troopers. He is believed to have died from injuries suffered during a fall. 

Casey was originally reported missing on Saturday. The Juneau Police Department says he was in Juneau for the summer. Casey did not share the time or place he was hiking with others, according to troopers, but his cell phone was pinged in a remote spot between Thunder Mountain Trail and Nugget Creek Trail.

Juneau Mountain Rescue and the Southeast Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground Search, or SEADOGS, scanned the area and discovered his body on Monday evening. Casey’s body was recovered and sent to the state’s Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage. His family has been notified. 

The Alaska Marine Highway System ferry MV LeConte broke down over the weekend. 

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said the ferry, which serves Southeast Alaska communities, will be out of commission until at least Thursday. 

“Marine Highway staff and crew are working as hard as they can to get this vessel back up and running as quickly as possible,” she said. 

McCarthy said the ferry began experiencing engine loss and other issues on Saturday when traveling from Hoonah to Kake. She said ferry staff decided to have it towed to Juneau for repairs on Sunday.

The service disruption left many on the ship stuck in Juneau, including the Kake cross-country team. The department offered catamarans for stranded riders to travel to Kake and Angoon. 

Alaska Marine Highway staff says they are scrambling to fix the ferry before the start of the Klondike Road Relay in Skagway this Friday. 

The Klondike Road Relay is an annual tradition for many Alaska endurance runners. The 10-part relay race begins Friday evening in Skagway. Runners will take turns running throughout the night and morning over the Coast Mountains and into Whitehorse, Yukon. Many in Juneau and Haines rely on the LeConte to transport their teams and vehicles to Skagway for the race. 

McCarthy said the department is looking for alternative solutions for impacted travelers until the LeConte is fixed. 

“We are really hoping to have the vessel repaired and back returned to service quickly,” she said. “But if by any chance we don’t have all of our ships available running, we will absolutely be looking at alternative service, such as a catamaran.”

The LeConte is currently moored in Juneau at the Auke Bay Ferry terminal as it undergoes repairs.

The Juneau Police Department released the body-worn camera footage on Friday of a violent arrest by an officer in July. The video was released just a day after the officer involved resigned from his position. 

Officer Brandon LeBlanc slammed a man to the ground during the July 30 arrest. The man was medevacked out of town for a head injury. Juneau Police Chief Derek Bos said the officer’s conduct during the arrest did not align with the Juneau Police Department’s policy or values.

“I do not believe this incident is reflective of JPD and who we are. I think this is more of an isolated event,” he said. 

The department released the footage in compliance with a new ordinance passed by the Juneau Assembly this spring. It mandates that the department must release body-worn camera footage no more than 30 days after a city police officer’s actions cause serious injury. This is the first time the ordinance has been invoked.

LeBlanc started working for JPD last fall. The department placed him on paid administrative leave following the arrest. He resigned on Thursday. City Manager Katie Koester said his resignation reflects the seriousness of what occurred.

“I think that what we would just want to underscore and acknowledge is how painful this event has been for our community,” she said. 

Koester said the arrest has prompted a larger review of policing in Juneau. The city is internally investigating the incident. It plans to co-host a community dialogue with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska about the community’s relationship with law enforcement. 

“We have an obligation to uphold the standards that our community expects from us,” she said. “That doesn’t mean just doing an investigation and reviewing the facts, but it means following up with our community and having that conversation.”

A video taken by a witness of the arrest circulated widely online last month and prompted a protest of the officer’s actions. The video showed LeBlanc attempting to handcuff a man before slamming him to the ground. The man, whose family has publicly identified him as Christopher Williams, Jr., appeared to lie unconscious for the remainder of the video. 

The body-worn camera footage released on Friday shows the incident from multiple perspectives and includes audio. In the video, the man does not appear to comply when LeBlanc asks him to put his hands behind his back. 

In the video, LeBlanc describes his actions to another officer as a “suplex type” maneuver. A suplex is a move in sports wrestling. 

LeBlanc worked as an officer in Louisiana before Juneau. While there, court documents show that a man sued LeBlanc in 2016 for excessive force and battery, among other accusations. A jury found LeBlanc not guilty.

Following the arrest, the Juneau department requested an independent investigation by an external agency to review LeBlanc’s use of force, which is still ongoing. It also announced that the department will participate in cultural sensitivity training. The family of the injured man says he plans to sue the department.

Chief Bos said the department is committed to working with the community to grow transparency and trust following the incident. 

“I would say moving forward from this, obviously, we can always learn and do better — if we don’t, that’s a fault,” he said. “Our intention is to look at this and say, ‘How can we become better partners with the community, and what does that look like?’”

Once the external investigation is finished, the state’s Office of Special Prosecutions will review the case to determine if LeBlanc was justified in his response.