TOK, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska State Troopers released dash cam video and 911 audio Friday from an officer-involved shooting in Tok in October 2023 and said that the trooper who fatally shot a Northway man has been cleared of wrongdoing.
Viewer warning: The video in this story may be disturbing for some readers. Watch at your own risk.
The trooper involved was not wearing a body camera, according to the Department of Public Safety.
Phone records show that at 2:35 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2023, troopers received a call that 21-year-old Timothy Thomas of Northway was attempting to break into occupied motel rooms and making threats at the Three Bears Motel in Tok.
The caller relayed information to the Department of Public Safety:
Caller: “We were sleeping and we heard banging on the door.”
Dispatcher: “Oh he heard through somebody else that you guys were there, so he just showed up?”
Caller: “Yup and that’s a bottle of alcohol and blacked out.”
Dispatcher: “Okay.”
Caller: “He’s in the gray sweater.”
Dispatcher: “Okay, is he threatening anything?”
Caller: “To break down the door.”
Troopers say the same caller called dispatch four times as Thomas tried to break the window and get into other motel rooms.
Trooper Timothy Rosario arrived just after 3 a.m. and saw Thomas was carrying an AK-47 style rifle outside the motel.
Officials say the dash cam video has no audio due to the in-car video recording being activated after the shooting, and Rosario was unable to activate the video system in time.
Rosario gave Thomas multiple commands to stop, but he refused stating, “I’d rather not.”
Troopers say Thomas appeared to be approaching a “position of cover,” which they say would have put the life of the trooper and occupants in the motel at risk.
Rosario then shot Thomas three times and was declared dead at the scene.
The Office of Special Prosecutions reviewed the case, stating they would not be pressing charges against Officer Rosario, finding that use of force was lawful.
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