The two Alaska State Troopers charged with assault for their alleged conduct during a Kenai arrest in May had their charges raised from misdemeanor fourth-degree assault to felony first-degree assault after indictment Wednesday, Oct. 30, by a Kenai grand jury.
Both Joseph Miller Jr., 49, and Jason Woodruff, 42, are accused of assaulting Ben Tikka, 37, whom they approached while trying to arrest his cousin early on May 24, according to a complaint by the state attorney general filed in the Third Judicial District at Kenai on Aug. 14.
The complaint says that the two troopers, while trying to arrest Tikka’s cousin, allowed a police dog to repeatedly bite Tikka and kicked him in the head and other parts of the body. The complaint says Tikka was hospitalized with several broken bones, lacerations and open wounds.
The complaint cites both audio and body camera footage taken by Miller and by a Kenai police officer also present during the encounter.
The original charges filed were misdemeanors, rather than felonies. John Skidmore, deputy attorney general for the criminal division of the State Department of Law, said during an August press conference that the classification of a felony would require “one of two elements,” either the use of a dangerous instrument or serious physical injury. The state doesn’t believe, he said, that either was present, even though Tikka was hospitalized.
Attorney Darryl Thompson, representing Tikka, said during a September arraignment of the two officers that Tikka sustained “life-changing injuries to his body” during the May arrest, which he said resulted in $41,000 in medical expenses.
At that hearing, both officers submitted not guilty pleas and were released without bail.
The new indictment alleges in a single count of felony first-degree assault that Woodruff and Miller “recklessly caused physical injury to Ben Tikka by means of a dangerous instrument,” though that instrument is not defined.
A press release from the State Department of Law says that the new charges remain only allegations and that both officers “are entitled to a fair trial at which the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
With the indictment, Woodruff and Miller’s cases are both now reassigned to superior court and have been assigned to Superior Judge Lance Joanis. A new arraignment is scheduled for both officers on Nov. 12 at 2:30 p.m.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
