2 Alaska Troopers Allegedly Used Taser and Sicced Dog on Man During Arrest — But It Was the Wrong Person: Police

Mar. 15, 2025

Alaska State Trooper vehicle.Photo:Alaska State Trooper/Facebook

Alaska State Trooper/Facebook

Two Alaska state troopers are facing assault charges after allegedly pulling over, Tasering and using a police dog to attack a man — when they were actually looking for his cousin.

On Thursday, Aug. 15, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety James Cockrell announced in anews conferencethat two officers had been charged with fourth-degree assault — a misdemeanor — following the incident that took place on May 24 in the Kenai Peninsula city of Soldotna, southwest of Anchorage.

According to apress releasefrom the Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Trooper Joseph Miller, 49, and K9 officer Jason Woodruff, 42, initially responded to a report in May that stated a car had been found that was registered to a man with an active misdemeanor warrant. TheAssociated Pressreported that the man’s warrant was for allegedly failing to serve his sentence for driving with a revoked license.

An image taken from a body camera video of an altercation between Alaska State Troopers and the man.Third Judicial District of the State of Alaska via AP

Third Judicial District of the State of Alaska via AP

Miller then smashed the rear window of the car with his baton and sprayed pepper spray inside, the documents allege. The man then got out of the car, and Miller allegedly kicked him in the shin, punched him in the back of the head or neck and stepped on his — which forced his face into broken glass on the ground from the rear window, per the AP.

“There should have been some additional questions asked before we broke the window and drug him out of his car,” Cockrell said during the press conference.

Woodruff also allegedly deployed a police dog to bite the man, the documents claim. Even after the man tried to move away from the dog and pleaded with Woodruff to “please stop the dog” multiple times, Woodruff allegedly commanded it to continue biting.

The AP reported that the man needed surgery to repair muscle lacerations after the incident.

Footage of the incident, which was captured on a body camera, will be released in full after the criminal investigation is complete, Cockrell said during the press conference.

As emergency medical personnel were getting ready to transport the man to the hospital, the AP reported, troopers then realized that he was not the person they were looking for; rather, the two men were cousins with the same last name.

The troopers arrested the man on several charges, but the Kenai District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges, the charging documents added.

Soldotna, Alaska.Getty

Getty

Both officers were placed on administrative leave, he added, and said that the police dog — named Olex, according to the AP — has been taken out of service.

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Investigators with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation are looking into the case, per the AP. According to the charging documents, Miller allegedly told the investigators that they would not have needed to use force if the man had just got out of the car and complied with their commands.

“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,” Cockrell wrote in the press release.

The officers are due in state court in Kenai, Alaska on Sept. 10, according to the AP. It’s not clear if they’ve entered pleas or retained attorneys.

source: people.com