Alaska State Troopers beat, stunned and used a police dog to violently arrest the wrong man, Ben Tikka

Two Alaska state police officers who pepper-sprayed, beat, stunned and fought a man with a police dog during a case of mistaken identity have been charged with assault, authorities said Thursday.

Charging documents say that on May 24, the officers – dog handler Jason Woodruff and Sergeant Joseph Miller – encountered Garrett Tikka, a man wanted for failure to serve a 10-day jail sentence for driving without a license, when they checked an SUV parked in the community of Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula southwest of Anchorage.

Instead, the man in the vehicle was Garrett Tikka's cousin, Ben Tikka, according to the indictment filed Tuesday by the Office of Special Prosecutions at the Alaska Attorney General's Office.

During his arrest, Ben Tikka suffered bloody injuries and had to undergo surgery to treat the muscle injuries.

In addition, he suffered a broken shoulder, cuts to his head and an open dog bite on his left upper arm.

During a press conference on Thursday announcing the charges, authorities said they would not release the body-worn camera video recording the arrest until the criminal case was concluded.

But James Cockrell, head of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said he had never seen anything like this in his 33 years with the agency.

“What I saw absolutely disgusted me,” Cockrell said.

Woodruff's attorney, Clint Campion, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

No attorney was listed for Miller in online court records, and the Associated Press could not immediately find valid contact information for him.

Miller, 49, has worked for the Alaska State Troopers for 14 years and was most recently assigned as a shift supervisor in Soldotna. Woodruff, 42, has been with the police for 16 years.

They have each been charged with assault and are scheduled to appear in state court in Kenai on September 10.

Both have been placed on leave, Cockrell said, and the agency is currently reviewing some previous cases involving them for possible policy violations.

The case began with a call about possible illegal camping in a vehicle at a dog park in Soldotna.

Officers had been told the SUV was associated with Garrett Tikka, but they failed to confirm who was inside before telling the occupant he was wanted on a warrant and asking him to get out, the charges say.

Ben Tikka replied that there was no such arrest warrant against him and did not immediately leave the vehicle.

Miller smashed a rear window with a baton and then fired pepper spray into it.

As Tikka got out, Miller kicked him in the shin, hit him on the back of the head or neck, and stepped on his head.

He then repeatedly used a stun gun on him while another officer, who was not charged, attempted to handcuff him – according to charging documents, Miller accidentally stunned the other officer at one point.

While Tikka lay face down with his hands behind his back, he was repeatedly bitten by the police dog named Olex, who had also bitten his handler Woodruff just minutes earlier, the documents say.

Tikka tried to move away from the dog and Woodruff ordered him to keep biting; the dog obeyed and attacked Tikka, while the latter, covered in blood, complied with the order to put his hands up and pleaded, “Please stop the dog. Please stop the dog.”

The dog has been taken out of service, Cockrell said.

Only when Tikka was taken to the hospital did another police officer confirm that it was Ben Tikka and not Garrett.

Officers arrested Ben Tikka on several charges, including fourth-degree assault for putting officers in fear of physical harm. The Kenai District Attorney's Office later dropped the charges.

Assistant Attorney General John Skidmore said the state has previously filed charges of excessive use of force against police officers in Bethel and Anchorage, but he cannot recall such a charge ever being brought against a police officer in the 25 years he has been in the state.

According to charging documents, Miller told investigators that no violence would have been used if Tikka had simply gotten out of the vehicle and followed instructions.

When asked whether the use of force by officers was appropriate in this situation, he replied: “In my understanding, yes.”

Alaska Bureau of Investigation investigators said Woodruff told them he followed his training when using the dog on Tikka.

He described Tikka as “super angry” when he got out of the vehicle.

“Did he throw punches or anything like that? No. But he continued to fight back,” Woodruff is quoted as saying in the indictment.