Two Alaska State Troopers indicted on federal criminal civil rights violations

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment yesterday charging two Alaska State Troopers with federal criminal civil rights violations while serving in the line of duty during an incident in May 2024.

According to court documents, on May 24, 2024, Joseph Miller, 50, and Jason Woodruff, 43, acting in their official capacity as law enforcement officials with the Alaska State Troopers under the color of the law, allegedly deprived a victim of his constitutional rights.

The indictment alleges that Miller and Woodruff, while acting under the color of law as a Sergeant and a Trooper with the Alaska State Troopers, respectively, willfully deprived a victim of his right to be free from unreasonable seizures, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that Miller tased, hit and kicked the victim without legal justification, and that the offense involved the use of a dangerous weapon, resulting in bodily injury to the victim. The indictment further alleges that Woodruff unreasonably caused and directed his police canine, Olex, to bite the victim while the victim did not pose a threat that warranted use of the police canine, resulting in bodily injury to the victim.

Miller and Woodruff are each charged with one count of deprivation of rights under the color of law. The defendants are scheduled to make their initial court appearances on a later date before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, each defendant faces up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman of the District of Alaska and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brandon Waddle of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bradley is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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