Troopers to review controversial Sitka arrest

The Alaska State Troopers have agreed to perform an outside review of an arrest last year in Sitka, in which officers used a Taser on a high school student.

According to city attorney Robin Koutchak, the Sitka Police Department requested the review directly and the investigation began Monday.

She did not know how long the investigation process would take.

The Troopers will determine whether three Sitka police officers were acting within policy while arresting Franklin Hoogendorn, 18, on Sept. 6, 2014.

Video footage of the incident shows the three officers using a Taser on Hoogendorn while he was restrained and in custody.

The video was captures from closed-circuit cameras and posted to YouTube in late October. It has since been viewed over 35,000 times.

 

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