Juneau police officer seen on video throwing man to ground resigns from force

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Juneau, AK - A Juneau police officer who picked up and threw a man to the ground — causing him head injuries that required a medevac flight to Anchorage — during an arrest of a separate person in July has resigned from the force, according to the police department.

Content warning: The video in this article depicts violent content that some viewers may find disturbing.

The Juneau Police Department said Friday that the officer — identified weeks after the incident as Brandon LeBlanc — resigned on Thursday after being on probation for weeks following the July 30 incident.

The moments surrounding the arrest of a woman that precipitated the man being thrown to the ground were also unveiled Friday through officer body cam and dash cam video. A series of videos from multiple officers and vehicle dash cams was listed in a press release by the department.

Video captured by a bystander on that day shows LeBlanc throwing 49-year-old Christopher Williams Jr. to the ground, with his head hitting the pavement.

In an interview later with Alaska’s News Source, Williams said his left shoulder and right thumb were dislocated and he had a fractured collarbone, as well as bruising and open wounds on the back of his head.

The incident started when a 47-year-old woman identified by police as Marisa Didrickson threw water in the face of a 52-year-old man outside the Douglas Library.

Police said Didrickson, who was arrested and taken to Lemon Creek Correctional Center, “made racial comments” against the man, including him “not belonging in Juneau.”

After officers arrived, Didrickson was arrested for disorderly conduct.

As she was being arrested, police said another man (Williams) — only identified by police as a “49-year-old Juneau resident” — began following police.

Officers said they asked the man to walk away.

Police said he refused, and Didrickson told him (Williams) to “take care of him,” referring to the 52-year-old man.

When Williams began to walk towards police “in an aggressive manner,” officers say they attempted to arrest him, leading to him being thrown to the ground.

“The 49-year-old male resisted and was taken to the ground,” the release stated.

JPD said at the time that the officer’s use of force was being investigated by an outside law enforcement agency.

In a video that surfaced online, the person taking the video — Ibn Bailey — can be heard saying, “Y’all ain’t going to be talking about Black people no more,” seconds before the 49-year-old man is picked up by the officer and thrown to the concrete sidewalk.

The man does not appear to move on the video as officers finish handcuffing him and request assistance.

Didrickson was taken to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.