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Two Alaska State Troopers who pepper-sprayed, beat, stunned and used a police dog on a man in a case of mistaken identity have been charged with assault, authorities said Thursday.

Charging documents said the troopers — canine handler Jason Woodruff and Sgt. Joseph Miller — thought they were dealing with Garrett Tikka, a man wanted for failing to serve a 10-day sentence for driving with a revoked license, on May 24 when they checked out an SUV parked in the Kenai Peninsula community of Soldotna, southwest of Anchorage.

Instead, the man inside the vehicle was Garrett Tikka’s cousin, Ben Tikka, according to the charges filed Tuesday by the Office of Special Prosecutions in the Alaska Attorney General’s Office. The arrest left Ben Tikka bloodied and in need of surgery to repair muscle lacerations. He also suffered a fractured shoulder, cuts to his head and an open dog bite on his left upper arm.

During a news conference Thursday announcing the charges, authorities said they would not release body-worn camera video that captured the arrest until after the criminal case is resolved. But James Cockrell, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said he had never seen anything like it in his 33 years with the department.

“I was totally sickened by what I saw,” Cockrell said.

Woodruff’s attorney, Clint Campion, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Online court records did not list an attorney for Miller, and The Associated Press was not immediately able to find valid contact information for him.

Miller, 49, is a 14-year employee of the Alaska State Troopers, most recently assigned as a shift supervisor in Soldotna. Woodruff, 42, has been with the troopers for 16 years.

They were each charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and are due to have an appearance at state court in Kenai on Sept. 10. Both have been placed on administrative leave, Cockrell said, and the department is reviewing some past cases they have been involved in for possible policy violations.

The case began with a call about possible illegal camping in a vehicle at a dog park in Soldotna. The troopers had been advised that the SUV was associated with Garrett Tikka, but they failed to confirm who was inside it before telling the occupant he was wanted on an outstanding warrant and ordering him out, the charges say.

Ben Tikka responded that he was not the subject of any such warrant, and he did not immediately exit the vehicle.

Miller smashed a rear window with a baton and then fired pepper spray inside. When Tikka got out, Miller kicked him in the shin, punched him in the back of the head or neck, and stepped on his head.

He then repeatedly used a stun gun on him as another trooper, who was not charged, tried to handcuff him — at one point, Miller accidentally stunned the other officer, according to the charging papers.

As Tikka, lying face-down, placed his hands behind his back, he was repeatedly bitten by the police dog, named Olex, which had also bitten its handler, Woodruff, minutes earlier, the documents say.

Tikka tried to move away from the dog and Woodruff commanded it to continue biting; the dog did so, attacking Tikka even as Tikka, covered in blood, complied with commands to put his hands up and begged, “Please stop the dog. Please stop the dog.”

The dog has been taken out of service, Cockrell said.

Only as Tikka was being taken to a hospital did another trooper confirm he was Ben Tikka, not Garrett.

The troopers arrested Ben Tikka on several counts, including fourth degree assault for placing troopers in fear of physical injury. The Kenai District Attorney’s Office later dismissed the case.

Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore said the state has previously filed excessive use of force charges against police officers in Bethel and Anchorage, but he couldn’t recall such charges being filed against a trooper in the 25 years he’s been with the state.

According to charging papers, Miller told investigators that no force would have been used if Tikka had simply exited the vehicle and complied with commands. When asked if the force used by officers in this situation was reasonable, he replied: “From my understanding, yes.”

The investigators, with Alaska Bureau of Investigation, said Woodruff told them he was following his training in using the dog on Tikka. He described Tikka as “super pissed” when he got out of the vehicle.

“Was he throwing punches or anything like that? No. However, he was still resistant,” the charging papers quoted Woodruff as saying.

Updated: 1 hour ago Published: 1 hour ago

Alaska’s mining industry supported 11,800 jobs and $1.1 billion in total wages in 2023, according to a report commissioned by the Alaska Miners Association and Alaska Metals Mines.

The four-page report, by the McKinley Research Group, uses data from 2023 and earlier years to calculate the economic impacts of one of the state’s largest industrial sectors.

The 2023 employment totals show growth from 2021 figures detailed in a more extensive report released in 2022 by the McKinley Research Group. That earlier report listed 10,800 jobs and $985 million in wages, a total that included 5,400 direct mining jobs and additional indirect and induced employment created by what’s known as a “multiplier effect.” That multiplier calculated jobs and wages created by mining companies’ and mining employees’ spending.

There are economic impacts beyond employment, the new report said. Those include revenues for state and local governments, job training and skill development for Alaskans building their careers, shared revenue among Alaska Native corporations and contributions to nonprofits, it said.

Mining companies provide the largest share of the local property tax revenues in the Northwest Arctic Borough, the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the City and Borough of Juneau, the report said. Local tax payments from mining companies totaled $50 million in 2023, it said.

For the state government, the industry provided $136 million in revenues in 2023, the report said.

State revenues include royalties, which are charged at 3% on revenues from minerals production on state land. There is, additionally, a royalty charged on coal produced on new state leases.

The 3% royalty rate for minerals compares with the 12.5% rate normally charged on oil produced from state lands.

There are seven major producing mines in the state, six of which are metals mines in locations ranging from Southeast Alaska to Arctic Northwest Alaska: Red Dog, Greens Creek, Fort Knox, Pogo, Kensington and Manh Cho. The seventh major producing mine is the Usibelli Coal Mine. There are also eight large projects nearing development or in advanced stages of exploration. Among those considered to be near development is the controversial Pebble mine, which faces an uncertain future because the Environmental Protection Agency in 2023 invoked a special rule to bar permitting of that project. Also listed as near development is the Donlin Gold project in Western Alaska.

[In Northwest Alaska, an economic engine runs low on ore]

Red Dog is one of the world’s largest zinc producers, and it produces lead as well. The Greens Creek mine is one of the world’s largest silver producers. Kensington, Fort Knox, Pogo and Manh Cho are gold producers.

Among the state’s seven largest producing mines, Alaska residents make up 72% of the workforce, according to the McKinley report. The 28% share of nonresident workers compares to a statewide average, among all industries, of 15.3% as of 2019, according to a 2021 report from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

According to the more extensive 2022 McKinley Research Group report, zinc accounted for 51% of the value of Alaska’s statewide minerals production. Gold ranked second in value at 37%. That was followed by silver at 7%, lead at 3%, coal at 2% and rock, sand and gravel at 0.2%.

Originally published by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.