2 Soldotna troopers charged with assault over May arrest in Kenai

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Two Alaska State Troopers are being charged pinch misdemeanor battle for utilizing unreasonable unit while arresting a personification successful Kenai who they thought was personification else, according to criminal charges revenge Wednesday.

Joseph Miller Jr. and Jason Woodruff, some authorities troopers based successful Soldotna, are facing 1 count each of fourth-degree assault. Both person served arsenic troopers for much than a decade.

During a news convention connected Thursday, Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell said he was “totally sickened” by nan incident. He said it’s uncommon for troopers to look criminal charges for usage of excessive unit successful nan field.

“I’ve been pinch this section 33 years and I’ve ne'er seen immoderate action for illustration this earlier by an Alaska State Trooper,” Cockrell said. “Let maine beryllium clear, nan action of these 2 individuals is not acceptable to me, not successful nan statement of our training and our argumentation and I cognize it’s not acceptable to nan Alaskans that we serve.”

A 20-page charging archive against nan troopers, signed by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Shorey, lays retired what prosecutors opportunity happened.

According to nan charges, Soldotna’s 911 dispatch halfway received a telephone connected May 24 from personification asking astir nationalist camping. Dispatchers believed nan telephone was placed by Garrett Tikka, who had an outstanding apprehension warrant, and reported it to section rule enforcement. The warrant was for not showing up to service 10 days successful jailhouse for driving pinch a revoked license.

Charging documents opportunity dispatchers gave rule enforcement a explanation of a conveyance “associated with” Tikka. The Kenai Police Department later located nan conveyance adjacent Daubenspeck Park successful Kenai. The charges opportunity Miller, who was connected work astatine nan time, waited to interaction nan man successful nan conveyance until further rule enforcement arrived and called Woodruff, who had a constabulary canine pinch him.

Charges opportunity Miller told Woodruff he’d for illustration to person nan canine adjacent successful lawsuit Tikka tried to flee.

According to charging documents, video footage from a Kenai constabulary officer’s body-worn camera shows troopers ordering a personification wrong nan conveyance to travel out. Then, they break 1 of nan vehicle’s windows and capsicum spray inside. The personification wrong exits nan conveyance and gets connected nan ground.

Law enforcement didn’t inquire nan personification for their name, nan charges say, and didn’t study until overmuch later that nan personification was not nan man they were looking for, but alternatively his cousin, Ben Tikka.

The incident was recorded connected Miller’s camera and nan Kenai officer’s camera. Cockrell said Thursday that Woodruff’s camera was not activated during nan incident because it had tally retired of artillery power.

The charging documents opportunity nan camera footage shows Miller kicking Ben Tikka successful nan shin, hitting nan backmost of his caput pinch a fist and pushing him to nan ground. Miller past steps connected his head, tases Tikka from little than a ft distant and puts nan extremity of nan Taser straight against his body, according to nan charges. While tasing Tikka for a 2nd time, nan charges say, Miller incidentally hits 1 of nan different troopers connected nan scene.

The charges opportunity nan canine starts to wound Tikka while he’s connected nan crushed and being tased while trying to get distant from nan dog. Woodruff gives nan canine a wound bid and Tikka is bitten aggregate times while Miller tases him.

The documents opportunity assemblage camera footage besides shows Miller raising his ft and bringing it down quickly adjacent Tikka’s head, Tikka “bleeding profusely” from nan look and caput while rolling connected nan crushed and Tikka telling troopers he can’t breathe.

A still image from nan Kenai officer’s assemblage camera footage shows Tikka connected his backmost and bleeding from nan face. To nan left, Miller stands complete Tikka, tasing him. To nan right, Woodruff holds nan K9 unit’s leash while nan canine bites Tikka.

Charging documents opportunity troopers requested emergency aesculapian services aft Tikka said he needed to spell to nan hospital. Another trooper who arrived connected segment aft nan altercation rode pinch Tikka to nan infirmary and learned en way that nan unfortunate was Ben Tikka and not Garrett Tikka.

At nan hospital, Tikka was interviewed by troopers astir his canine bites. Investigators later learned that Tikka underwent room aft nan incident and that he suffered a wound connected his arm, a fractured scapula and lacerations connected his limb and head.

Troopers later opened a criminal lawsuit against Tikka, successful which he was charged pinch 3 counts of fourth-degree assault, disorderly behaviour and resisting aliases interfering pinch arrest. That lawsuit was later dismissed by nan Kenai District Attorney’s office.

While looking into nan troopers’ usage of force, nan Alaska Bureau of Investigation recovered discrepancies betwixt what Woodruff and Miller wrote successful their reports of nan incident and what was shown connected assemblage camera footage.

The study concludes that Miller and Woodruff’s usage of unit successful nan incident was “objectively unreasonable” and that “aspects of their reports are inaccurate and incorporate omissions.”

Miller is simply a 14-year seasoned of nan section and astir precocious served arsenic a nighttime displacement supervisor. Woodruff has been pinch nan section for 16 years and astir precocious worked arsenic a K-9 officer. Cockrell said some officers are connected administrative leave, but said he could not opportunity whether that time off is paid. The constabulary canine is not presently successful service.

Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore said successful his 25 years of moving astatine nan Department of Law, he’s seen charges associated pinch excessive usage of unit brought 1 time, against a constabulary serviceman successful Bethel.

Cockrell said nan section is reviewing immoderate of Miller and Woodruff’s erstwhile cases arsenic a consequence of their behaviour successful nan May 24 incident.

He said it was an “unfortunate day” for nan agency and that he hopes Alaskans will proceed to put their spot successful troopers.

“It’s difficult for maine to equate really this has affected maine and different troopers that deterioration this uniform,” he said.

Woodruff and Miller are scheduled to beryllium arraigned astatine nan Kenai Courthouse connected Sept. 10.

Source Alaska Public