According to assault charges, Alaska State Police officers used police dogs, tasers and “inappropriate” force to violently arrest the wrong man

Two Alaska state troopers from the Kenai Peninsula are accused of using excessive force — including using a Taser and a prolonged attack by a police dog — while arresting the wrong man, according to a rare indictment filed against them this week.

Officers Jason Woodruff and Sergeant Joseph Miller are accused of dragging a 38-year-old Soldotna resident from a GMC Denali SUV parked in a Kenai park on May 24 after smashing a rear window and spraying him with pepper spray inside the vehicle, according to an indictment filed Wednesday and signed on behalf of Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor.

They then allowed a police dog led by Woodruff to bite the man for over a minute while the man tried to comply with commands, screaming and begging the dog to stop, the document says. Miller also shocked the man twice with a Taser, punched him and kicked him in the head, it says.

According to the indictment, the man's injuries included a broken shoulder blade, torn muscles, including a torn triceps, and an open bite wound on his left upper arm.

The case appears to be the first in Alaska in which on-duty police officers have been charged with excessive use of force, state justice officials said.

James Cockrell, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said Thursday that the police officers' behavior was “completely abhorrent” to him and that he had never witnessed such egregious behavior in his 33 years with the agency.

“It's difficult for me to describe how this has impacted me and other soldiers who wear this uniform,” Cockrell said during a press conference streamed on social media. “To be clear, the actions of these two individuals are unacceptable to me, they are not consistent with our training and our policy, and I know they are unacceptable to the Alaskans we serve.”

Woodruff, 42, has been with the department for 16 years and Miller, 49, for 14 years, Cockrell said. Woodruff most recently worked as a K-9 officer in Soldotna and Miller was a night shift supervisor, also in Soldotna.

Cockrell said both officers were removed from duty when the Alaska Bureau of Investigations began investigating them for criminal conduct in early June. They are still employed by the department but are on leave, he said Thursday. He said he had no immediate information on whether the leave was paid or unpaid.

“Sir, please stop”

When the incident began on May 24, police officers were searching at a Kenai dog park for Garrett Tikka, who was wanted on a $150 warrant after failing to serve a 10-day jail sentence for driving without a license, according to the indictment. But the man they pulled from the vehicle was Tikka's cousin, 38-year-old Ben Tikka.

When the arrest was made, police did not ask who was in the car but assumed it was Garrett Tikka, Cockrell said.

“There should have been some additional questions asked before we smashed the window and dragged him out of his car,” he said.

The indictment states that Ben Tikka was forcibly arrested despite his efforts to comply with his obligation.

After Miller pepper-sprayed Tikka and he exited the vehicle, Miller kicked him, then put his foot on Tikka's head and pressed his face into the glass from the broken window, Cockrell said. He also deployed his Taser several times during the encounter, briefly shocking another officer.

Woodruff repeatedly ordered his dog, K-9 Olex, to bite Ben Tikka, even though the dog obeyed commands and yelled, “My hands are behind my back, sir, please stop,” according to the charges.

Woodruff himself was bitten by the dog before he ordered it to bite Tikka, the indictment says. Later, the dog refused to stop biting, the indictment says. Cockrell said Thursday that the dog is no longer on duty.

Police initially arrested Ben Tikka on fourth-degree assault, resisting prosecution and disorderly conduct charges, but prosecutors in Kenai dropped those charges.

Cockrell wrote in a letter to Department of Public Safety employees Wednesday afternoon that the force used by Miller and Woodruff “went too far” and did not comply with department policies, making it a criminal offense.

He said Tikka suffered “serious injuries” in the encounter with the two police officers.

No crime

The Office of Special Prosecutions filed fourth-degree assault charges against the police officers on Wednesday.

Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore said during Thursday's press conference that Tikka's injuries were not severe enough to be classified as a crime.

“The definition of serious physical injury in our laws states that it must be a physical injury that can cause death or severe and prolonged disfigurement or loss or impairment of the use of a bodily organ or limb for a prolonged period of time,” he said. “And while these injuries did indeed require medical attention, we found insufficient evidence to show that they rose to that higher level.”

Images captured by Miller's body-worn camera and a camera from a Kenai police officer were used as material in the state's investigation. Woodruff was “not equipped with his camera” during the incident, the indictment says. While he was uploading videos, his camera ran out of batteries and he did not have it with him when he received the call, Cockrell said. A third police officer's body camera was also not activated during the call, the indictment says.

Several photos in the indictment show the dog biting Tikka's hand as he tries to get out of the SUV, Tikka grimacing in pain as he exits the vehicle, and his face covered in blood as the dog attacks him. The images document that the officers' “use of nonlethal force in arresting Ben Tikka on a misdemeanor warrant was objectively unreasonable,” and portions of the original reports they made of the arrest “are inaccurate and contain omissions,” the indictment says.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the officers' use of force began on June 6. Ben Tikka was also arrested that day for driving without a valid license, according to a Soldotna police news release.

Cockrell said a K-9 commander who regularly reviews canine operations reported this incident with concern, which then came to the attention of colonels and majors in the department. He said they brought it to his attention and he concluded a criminal investigation was appropriate.

The two officers each face one count of fourth-degree assault. Both Miller and Woodruff will make their first appearance in district court in Kenai next month, the Alaska Department of Law said.

[Previous coverage: Criminal charges dropped for former Anchorage police officer captured on camera punching and kicking man on bicycle]

None of them were immediately arrested, but received a court summons. Typically, arrest warrants are issued when a defendant poses a threat to the community, and “there is no reason why we should fear or believe that these officers pose an ongoing danger to other people,” Skidmore said.

He said arrests for misdemeanors could only be made if the crime was committed in the presence of an officer.

Cockrell said Thursday there had been no previous complaints of excessive force against Miller or Woodruff. The department is currently reviewing other cases involving them, he said.

The department is also reviewing its policies “to see if there are things we need to change internally to make sure this doesn't happen again,” Cockrell said.

“I knew both troopers involved, I was stationed on the Kenai Peninsula, so of course it hits me hard. … This is not what the Alaska State Troopers stand for, and I certainly don't stand for it,” he said. “And as long as I'm commissioner, we will not allow this type of activity or what I consider to be gross misconduct by our troopers. Troopers mean a lot to this state. We are the only state law enforcement agency. This is painful, not only for us, but for our troopers who have to deal with this, and I'm sure they will get feedback from the public as they go about their duties.”

The attack is a relatively rare case of on-duty police officers committing acts so egregious that they are prosecuted. Skidmore noted that a Bethel and Anchorage police officer has been charged with excessive use of force before, but this is the first case he is aware of involving police officers. The charges were first reported by Alaska Landmine.

Skidmore said Thursday that bodycam footage of the altercation would not be released until after the criminal trial is over because it could influence the jury and jeopardize the case.

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[Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said two Alaska state troopers were arrested on assault charges. They were charged with assault but not arrested. An earlier version also said Ben and Garrett Tikka are brothers. They are cousins.]