Alaska police arrest wrong man with excessive violence, reports say

Two Alaska State Troopers have been charged with assault following an incident that resulted in the use of excessive force, including police dogs, against an innocent man.

According to charging documents filed Thursday, canine handler Jason Woodruff and Sgt. Joseph Miller believed they were arresting Garrett Tikka, a man wanted for failing to serve a 10-day sentence for driving with a revoked license.

Officers searched an SUV parked in the community of Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula southwest of Anchorage in the incident that occurred on May 24.

However, the man inside the vehicle turned out to be Ben Tikka, Garrett Tikka’s cousin. Charges filed Tuesday by the Alaska Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Bureau revealed that the arrest left Ben Tikka seriously injured with a fractured shoulder, cuts to his head and an open dog bite wound on his upper left arm. He required surgery.

During a press conference Thursday, authorities said they would not release the body camera video that captured the arrest until the criminal case is resolved.

Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell expressed his dismay at the incident. He said he had never seen anything like it in his 33 years with the department. “What I saw absolutely sickened me,” Cockrell said.

The two officers have been formally charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and are due to appear in state court in Kenai on Sept. 10. In the meantime, they have been placed on administrative leave, and the department is reviewing some past cases in which they have been involved in violating police policies.

With information from New York Post