Homicidal Trooper

His life seemed perfect, but then the cracks in his façade began to show.

Most of us like to believe we can trust the police, but not everyone goes into law enforcement for the greater good. Some enter the police academy because they crave power over others and what better job than policing offers this power? I believe most police officers are good, and a few are bullies. John Patrick Addis, though, was the worst kind of police officer. He was a monster with a badge.

Born in Flint, Michigan, in 1950, John Patrick Addis loved to hunt and fish. He grew into a big, muscular man with blond hair and green eyes. By all accounts, Addis was talented and brilliant. He played the French horn, piano, and guitar. He excelled at sports and maintained good grades. He did not drink or take drugs, and he ran, did sit-ups, and lifted weights to keep his body in shape.

John liked science and expressed an interest in studying medicine. He enrolled in college and worked as a lab technician. He married his first wife, Jodi, and the pair initially planned to settle in Michigan and raise their family. For some reason, though, Addis suddenly rejected college and decided he really wanted to hunt and fish and live in the wilderness. He gave Jodi little say in the matter, and the couple moved to Sitka, Alaska. Addis began his law enforcement career as the Sitka city dog catcher, but he soon worked his way up the ranks, and he joined the Alaska State Troopers in 1974.

Addis was first assigned to Fort Yukon in northern Alaska and then transferred to Fairbanks in the mid-1970s. John and Jodi had four children during their eleven-year marriage, and John doted on his kids and spent as much time as possible with them. Addis was an avid outdoorsman and bush pilot who could survive long periods on his own in the frigid Alaska wilderness. When he lived in Fort Yukon, he loved flying in his Cessna through the Brooks Range in northern Alaska.

The Alaska State Troopers patrol vast amounts of sparsely populated territory over challenging terrain and often in adverse weather conditions. It is vital for the…