Tanana Tragedy

The 2014 ambush of two Alaska State Troopers

You might be familiar with the recent National Geographic documentary series, Alaska State Troopers. The show followed several troopers from different areas of the state as they made their daily rounds. Two of the officers featured on the show were Sergeant Patrick “Scott” Johnson and Gabriel “Gabe” Rich. Both men worked out of the Alaska State Troopers’ Fairbanks Rural Service Unit. A camera crew was not with the men on the fateful day of May 1, 2014.

Other than federal officers, the Alaska State Troopers are the most geographically extended group of peace officers in the country, and they have little if any backup. The state of Alaska encompasses 1/5 the entire landmass of the lower 48 states, but only 1300 troopers patrol this area. Cities and larger towns have local police officers, but they only patrol within the city limits. Those 1300 troopers are responsible for the rest of the state.

Many Native villages are too small to have a trooper post, so they hire a Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO). The Alaska State Troopers manage the VPSO program, and VPSOs are state-trained peace officers assigned to carry out basic police tasks in the villages. The VPSO maintains close contact with the troopers, and if a situation escalates, he or she will call the nearest trooper post and requests assistance. Troopers then fly to the village and take command of the case. When the officers arrive in a remote village, they don’t know what to expect, and backup is at…