Alaska State Troopers indicted on felony assault charges tied to violent arrest of wrong man

Two Alaska State Troopers were indicted this week on charges of first-degree assault after initially being charged with lower-level misdemeanor assault after the violent arrest of the wrong man in May on the Kenai Peninsula.

The case is a rare example of Alaska law enforcement officers facing criminal charges for actions taken while on duty. The incident was captured on body cameras worn by several officers involved in the arrest.

Trooper Jason Woodruff and troopers Sgt. Joseph Miller seriously injured 38-year-old Ben Tikka when they arrested him May 24 in Kenai.

The troopers mistook Tikka for his cousin, who was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant, according to information filed with the original charges by state prosecutors. Woodruff and Miller are accused of ordering a police dog to attack Tikka, shocking him with a Taser, kicking and punching him.

Tikka was hospitalized for his injuries and still experiences pain from the encounter, an attorney representing him has said.

Woodruff and Miller were initially charged in August with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault for the arrest. A Kenai grand jury on Wednesday indicted them on charges of felony first-degree assault. The charge holds the possibility of up to 20 years in prison. The sentence on a misdemeanor charge would have been up to a year in prison at most.

First-degree assault is defined by Alaska statute as occurring when someone causes “serious physical injury to another person.”

Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore initially said Tikka’s injuries were not severe enough to classify the crime as a felony. In response to emailed questions on Thursday, Skidmore said the “indictment represents a reassessment of the case and the grand jury determined the higher charge was warranted.”

[Previous coverage: Kenai Peninsula troopers criminally charged in arrest of wrong man make first court appearance]

Darryl Thompson, who is representing Tikka, said he was shocked the case was only charged as a misdemeanor initially and indicates that the troopers received special treatment because they were law enforcement officers. He said he believes the first-degree assault charge is appropriate and was pleased to hear of the indictment.

“(Tikka) appreciates the fact that the prosecution has taken this seriously and is treating these individual defendants like they would anyone else, if they weren’t police,” Thompson said Thursday. “He thinks it’s right that they’re treating them the same as they would any other defendant. He feels heard.”

The informational document filed in the case describes the troopers confronting Tikka in a parked SUV at a Kenai park. They were trying to arrest his cousin on a $150 outstanding warrant and only learned after the arrest that they had the wrong man, the document said.

Miller’s body-worn camera captured a conversation between him and Woodruff before they approached Tikka, according to the document. Woodruff can be heard in the footage talking about possibly deploying his police dog and described it as “one of those things that’s ‘lawful but awful,’” it said.

The troopers requested backup and eventually ordered Tikka out of the SUV while he questioned what he was being arrested for, the charges said. Miller smashed a window of the SUV and deployed pepper spray inside the vehicle, according to the charges. Tikka exited the vehicle and Miller then kicked him, punched him, shocked him twice with a stun gun and stepped on his head, the charges said. Woodruff then allowed his police dog to bite Tikka for more than a minute while he tried to comply with commands and begged for the dog to stop, the document said.

Tikka, who spent two days in the hospital, underwent two surgeries on his arm and shoulder and required more than 300 stitches to his torso and arm due to the dog bites, according to opinion piece written by his parents and published in the Peninsula Clarion.

While hospitalized, Tikka was charged with resisting or interfering with arrest, disorderly conduct and three counts of fourth-degree assault. Those charges were ultimately dismissed.

Troopers began a criminal investigation after a commander who routinely reviews dog deployments flagged the incident with concern, Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell said during a news conference announcing the charges.

Cockrell at the time said he was “totally sickened” by the troopers’ behavior and described it as egregious.

Clint Campion, who is representing Woodruff, said Thursday the new charge will delay any trial and he is “curious to see what new information that the state had that it didn’t have when they initially charged Trooper Woodruff.”

“(Woodruff) believes he was doing his job,” Campion said. “He was doing his job to protect other officers, Kenai police officers, troopers, that were trying to apprehend someone who wasn’t cooperating.”

Campion previously filed a motion to dismiss the case and contended there is no legal precedent establishing that police dogs can be considered unreasonable use of force.

The attorney representing Miller did not immediately respond to a message on Thursday.

Woodruff and Miller appeared in Kenai District Court last month and pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge. They were issued a summons to appear in court and were never arrested. They were released on their own recognizance during their initial appearance, meaning they did not have to pay a cash bail and agreed to appear at future court hearings.

An arrest warrant will not be sought on the indicted charge because bail was previously set, according to Patty Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the Department of Law. Woodruff and Miller are scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on the felony charges Nov. 12.