Press Release

Office of Special Prosecutions Completes Review of Officer-Involved Shooting in Juneau

February 26, 2025

(Anchorage, AK) – The Office of Special Prosecutions completed its review of an officer-involved shooting from Dec. 25, 2024, involving Ashley Rae Johnston and Juneau Police Department (JPD) Officer Jonah Hennings-Booth. The review determined that Officer Hennings-Booth was legally justified in his use of deadly force against Ms. Johnston.

The incident occurred after JPD received a call about a woman armed with a hammer who was yelling at people outside of the Breeze In and had threatened a private security guard with the weapon. Upon arrival, JPD officers discovered the hammer was actually a dual-use tool with a hatchet blade on one side. Officers verbally commanded the woman, later identified as Ms. Johnston, to drop the hatchet. Ms. Johnston advanced towards the officers while holding the hatchet and refused to follow the officers’ commands to drop the weapon. An attempt to Tase Ms. Johnston was ineffective and Ms. Johnston continued to advance on Officer Hennings-Booth. Officer Hennings-Booth fired two shots, striking and killing Ms. Johnston.

CONTACT: Chief Assistant Attorney General Jenna Gruenstein, at (907) 269-6250 or jenna.gruenstein@alaska.gov.

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Department Media Contact: Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.

Due to resource constraints, we no longer post links to referenced records. Records filed in a federal court are readily available at Docket Search or PACER, and records filed in a State of Alaska court are readily available from the Alaska Court System (Trial Courts - Alaska Court System and Search for an Appellate Case). Contact Sam Curtis to request a referenced record that is not readily available from a court or on the internet, or contact law.recordsrequest@alaska.gov to submit a formal Alaska Public Records Act request.