Two Alaska State Troopers in Soldotna have been charged with the assault of a Soldotna man. The Troopers charged are 49-year-old Joseph Miller, a 14-year employee of the Alaska State Troopers, who most recently served as a shift supervisor in Soldotna, and 42-year-old Jason Woodruff, a 16-year employee of the Alaska State Troopers, who most recently worked as a K9 officer in Soldotna.
According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, Alaska State Troopers and Kenai Police Department, on May 24, 2024, responded to reports that a vehicle was parked in a public right of way and was registered to an adult male with an active misdemeanor warrant. The law enforcement officers who responded attempted to contact the occupant of the vehicle; however, he remained hidden in the rear of the vehicle for several minutes and did not respond to law enforcement.
Unbeknownst to Troopers on the scene, the vehicle’s occupant was not the individual they were seeking, Garrett Tikka, but 37-year-old Ben Tikka of Soldotna.
Troopers spotted Ben in the back of the vehicle and ordered him to exit, as they believed that he had an active warrant for his arrest. From inside the vehicle, Tikka disputed this and refused to exit. Trooper Miller then broke a rear window with a collapsable baton and dispensed pepper spray into the vehicle.
According to charging documents, Tikka exited the vehicle with both hands in view, but the pepper spray had “obviously altered his vision and sense of dexterity.”
A DPS press release says that at this point, Tikka “continued to defy directives once outside of the vehicle.”
While Troopers attempted to handcuff Tikka, Miller placed his boot on Tikka’s head, pushing it into the ground covered in broken glass from the broken window. Miller deployed his taser multiple times while other Troopers attempted to handcuff Tikka.
Woodruff then deployed his K9 as Tikka “appeared to be beginning to comply with commands from officers and continued to order the K9 to bite.”
Tikka was ultimately placed in handcuffs and provided first aid care by two other Troopers until EMS arrived and took him to an area hospital for further treatment of significant injuries. A short time later, Troopers learned that Tikka did not have an active warrant and was not the person that they were looking for.
A standard review of the use-of-force and application of a K9 was conducted by the supervisors of the Troopers and K9 program, which is a required practice whenever there is a use-of-force or K9 application by a Trooper. Based on this initial review, potential policy violations were discovered, and DPS leadership was alerted.
DPS Commissioner James Cockrell ordered the Alaska Bureau of Investigation to conduct a criminal investigation into the incident. Once that investigation was complete, it was referred to the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions for independent review and to determine if criminal charges should be filed. On August 14, the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions filed criminal charges on both officers in Kenai District Court.
The Office of Special Prosecutions filed charges of Assault in the Fourth Degree against Trooper Sergeant Miller and Trooper Woodruff on Wednesday, August 14.
During a press conference on the incident, Commissioner Cockrell said he was “sickened” by Miller and Woodruff’s actions. “When I reviewed this video, I was totally sickened by what I saw. [That] two Alaska State Troopers that represent this uniform [and] represent this state, conducted themselves in this way.”
John Skidmore, Deputy Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Law, said that body camera footage is part of the incident’s ongoing investigation and will not be released at this time. “When there is body-worn camera footage, that is evidence in a criminal investigation; we do not release evidence in a criminal investigation for the risk that that can interfere with a citizen’s constitutional right when charges are brought.”
In an official statement, Commissioner Cockrell said:
“The Alaska State Troopers hold ourselves to extremely high standards of conduct and accountability. Any allegation of criminal conduct by a Trooper or employee is aggressively investigated, so that we can hold the employee accountable for their actions, just as we would for any person accused of committing a crime in Alaska. Let me be clear, the actions of these two individuals are not acceptable to me, not in line with our training and policy, and I know it is not acceptable to the Alaskans we serve. While today is an unfortunate day for the Alaska State Troopers, I hope Alaskans will continue to place their trust in the hundreds of Troopers who honorably serve Alaskans every day, by ensuring public safety across the state.”
Both Miller and Woodruff’s first court appearance is a District Court arraignment scheduled for September 10, 2024, at 1:30 PM in Kenai.
