Alaska State Troopers’ Trial Delayed Until February 2026
Alaska State Troopers Sgt. Joseph Miller Jr. and Jason Woodruff, facing assault charges for an incident in Kenai last year, will not go to trial until February 2026. The trial date was pushed back by a judge during their hearing on Wednesday.
The troopers are accused of assaulting Benjamin Tikka after mistaking him for his cousin. The charges were upgraded to felony assault after body-worn camera footage showed them beating and using a police dog on Tikka.
The trial, originally scheduled for June, was delayed as their lawyers requested more time. The new tentative trial date is set for February next year, almost two years after the alleged assault. The hearing comes amid a statewide backlog of trial cases and lengthy pretrial delays.
The Alaska Supreme Court has recently placed new limits on case postponements, effective May 12, with delays limited to 270 days for cases filed in or after 2022.
Miller is no longer employed by the state, while Woodruff was taken out of service following the incident. The police dog involved is also no longer with the department. Both troopers’ lawyers are preparing to file motions to dismiss their clients’ indictments.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews hopes to set a firm trial date at the August hearing, as he is the assigned judge after all three superior court judges in Kenai recused themselves from the case.
For more details, you can refer to KDLL.
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Photo credit alaskapublic.org
