Alaska State Troopers (TV series)

Alaska State Troopers
Narrated by	Marc Graue
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	95
Production
Executive producer	Michael Welsh
Producer	Brian Jones
Camera setup	Multiple
Running time	42 minutes
Production company	PSG Films
Original release
Network	National Geographic Channel
Release	October 14, 2009 (2009-10-14) – April 15, 2015 (2015-04-15)

Alaska State Troopers is an American documentary television series that aired on National Geographic Channel and premiered on October 14, 2009.^[1][2] It is narrated by Marc Graue. The show follows the daily beats of various bureaus within the Alaska State Troopers. In addition, the show features segments that follow village public safety officers from small rural villages as well as officers from other cities such as Wasilla, Palmer, Anchorage, and Soldotna.

The show follows the exploits of a number of officers from all regions of the state. Troopers who are seen on the show include James and Anne Sears, Howie Peterson, Jon Simeon and Brent Johnson,^[3] Scott Quist,^[4] Odean Hall, Lonny Piscoya,^[5] Luis Nieves,^[6] Dan Dahl,^[7] Rick Roberts,^[8] Abraham Garcia, Dan Cox, Gabe Rich, Michael Munson, Jonathan Stroebele, Joshua Varys, JJ Hennessey, Melvin Colley, Ken Van Spronsen, Daron Cooper, Lance Ewers, Jared Noll, Terrence Shanigan, Blake Calhoun, Brandon Viator, Tony Wegrzyn, William Connors, Jimmy Buttrey, Kamau Leigh, and Garrett Frost.

Although the show is aired in many countries, the National Geographic Channel has so far not released DVDs of the series outside of the United States.

The fifth season premiered on September 15, 2013.^[9] The sixth season premiered on April 10, 2014.^[10] After a total of 8 seasons the series was not continued, because "It was just time to focus on the job of providing public safety without any added outside distractions".^[11]

Officers from the program who have died in the line of duty

On March 30, 2013, two troopers featured in the program were killed in a helicopter crash during a search and rescue (SAR) mission near Talkeetna.^[12] Tage Brandel Toll and pilot Mel Nading were killed when they were returning with a rescued snowmobiler. The snowmobiler also died in the crash.^[12]

In 2014, the NTSB concluded the accident was caused by pilot error, and the Alaska DPS and the Alaska state troopers' safety culture. The department had been neglecting the issues in the lack of training for both the pilot and observer. And the error of the pilot was to fly into the severely bad weather which he was not adequately trained for.

On May 1, 2014, two troopers featured in the program were shot and killed in Tanana, a small town in Alaska's interior.^[13] The officers were reported to be Trooper Gabriel "Gabe" Rich (26) and Sgt. Patrick "Scott" Johnson (45).^[14]

A 19-year-old man, Nathanial "Sach" Kangas, was arrested in connection with the shootings. Troopers had responded to the town after the local village public safety officer (VPSO) requested back up in an earlier incident involving the father of the shooting suspect. In addition to the murder charges against his son, the elder Kangas was arrested and charged with assaulting the VPSO, and for driving with a suspended license the previous day.^[15][16]

To the date of writing, 4 officers who have participated in the show have been killed in the line of duty.

Episodes

Season 1 (2009)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
1	1	"Ice Patrol"	October 14, 2009 (2009-10-14)
2	2	"Crimes on the Kenai"	October 21, 2009 (2009-10-21)
Families in Girdwood are ecstatic when troopers, on S&R duty, arrive at the airport with fishermen whose boat had overturned in the Twenty-Mile River. The impaired driver of an ATV which was involved in a single-vehicle-crash resists being transported to Wildwood Center. Guards at the Center describe the booking process.
3	3	"The Wild West"	October 28, 2009 (2009-10-28)
A trooper from Nome flies to Brevig Mission to serve a warrant, and transports the person to Anvil Mtn Correctional Ctr. in Nome. An investigator from the Western Alaska Alcohol and Narcotics Team interviews people who are flying to 'local option' (dry) villages. Two people are carrying alcohol illegally. Troopers keep track of spring flooding long the Yukon River. A trooper investigates an assault case reported by a village police officer.
4	4	"Frontier Force"	November 4, 2009 (2009-11-04)
5	5	"Drug Bust"	November 11, 2009 (2009-11-11)
6	6	"Alaskan Justice"	December 16, 2009 (2009-12-16)

Season 2 (2011)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
7	1	"Spring Break Madness"	January 9, 2011 (2011-01-09)
A double-duration episode starts with policing the 'Arctic Man' celebration in the Hoodoo mountains, where races, drinking, and an unwittingly cooperative drug dealer (who directs troopers to his stash) keep law enforcers busy. A troopers's flight to Little Diomede Island gives an opportunity to speak to school children and reinforce safety around polar bears. Troopers in the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley respond to suicide calls, and a trooper describes his coping technique.
8	2	"Arctic Force"	January 15, 2011 (2011-01-15)
9	3	"Justice Below Zero"	January 16, 2011 (2011-01-16)
10	4	"Manhunt"	January 23, 2011 (2011-01-23)
11	5	"Shots Fired"	January 30, 2011 (2011-01-30)
12	6	"Armed and Dangerous"	February 13, 2011 (2011-02-13)
13	7	"High-Speed Chase"	February 20, 2011 (2011-02-20)
14	8	"Crime Under the Midnight Sun"	February 27, 2011 (2011-02-27)
15	9	"Highway Hijinks"	March 6, 2011 (2011-03-06)
16	10	"Operation Moose Decoy"	March 13, 2011 (2011-03-13)
17	11	"Anchorage Undercover"	March 20, 2011 (2011-03-20)
18	12	"Vice Squad"	March 27, 2011 (2011-03-27)
19	13	"Dazed and Confused"	March 27, 2011 (2011-03-27)

Season 3 (2011–12)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
20	1	"Beers & Bears"	December 4, 2011 (2011-12-04)
This double-length episode includes 15 incidents such as the successful S&R for a person walking 15 miles across a frozen river from Bethel to her home, breaking up a fight in the Matanuska-Susitna ('Mat-Su') Valley, the trip to serve a warrant on a person who stole a police car from a municipal force, and a Wildlife Trooper's patrol to intercept ATV riders who destroyed salmon habitat.
21	2	"Grizzly Showdown"	December 5, 2011 (2011-12-05)
22	3	"DUI on the 4th of July"	December 11, 2011 (2011-12-11)
23	4	"Spring Break Crazy"	December 11, 2011 (2011-12-11)
24	5	"Cowboy Fugitive"	February 18, 2011 (2011-02-18)
25	6	"Madman Manhunt"	January 1, 2012 (2012-01-01)
26	7	"Moose/Man Hunt"	January 8, 2012 (2012-01-08)
27	8	"Gun N Hide"	January 15, 2012 (2012-01-15)
28	9	"Midnight Poachers"	January 22, 2012 (2012-01-22)
29	10	"Storm of the Century"	January 29, 2012 (2012-01-29)
A Trooper races an oncoming storm to fly in and out of Kipnuk to gather evidence relating to a burglary. On a domestic violence call, a Trooper's response is interrupted when the storm destabilizes the ice road along the Kuskokwim River. A wanted person in the Mat-Su valley surrenders in order to find shelter from the storm in jail. A learning driver, trying to see a sign in the dark, slides into a ditch. Three incidents involve moose on the roads are presented.
30	11	"Warrant Wonderland"	February 5, 2012 (2012-02-05)
Troopers respond to a house in Oscarville where a man with a gun had a hostage. A warrant served in the Mat-Su Valley resulted in discovery of drugs in the house. Wildlife Troopers are called when a young moose is snared accidentally in fencing wire, and where a moose enters a greenhouse. Both animals were returned to the wild successfully. The driver of a vehicle fled from a traffic stop, but was tracked and corralled by Trooper Dog.
31	12	"Helter Skelter Homicide"	February 12, 2012 (2012-02-12)
32	13	"Alaskan Standoff"	February 26, 2012 (2012-02-26)
33	14	"Village Vigilantes"	March 4, 2012 (2012-03-04)

Season 4 (2012–13)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
34	1	"Extreme Justice"	October 7, 2012 (2012-10-07)
35	2	"Knife Fight"	October 7, 2012 (2012-10-07)
36	3	"Alaska Chainsaw Massacre"	October 14, 2012 (2012-10-14)
37	4	"Shotgun Showdown"	October 21, 2012 (2012-10-21)
38	5	"Armed and Bootlegging"	October 28, 2012 (2012-10-28)
39	6	"Bloody Warrior"	November 11, 2012 (2012-11-11)
40	7	"Campground Crazies"	November 18, 2012 (2012-11-18)
41	8	"Grizzly-pendence Day"	November 25, 2012 (2012-11-25)
42	9	"Hostage Standoff"	December 9, 2012 (2012-12-09)
43	10	"Armed & Squatting"	December 16, 2012 (2012-12-16)
44	11	"Meth Dealer Manhunt"	December 23, 2012 (2012-12-23)
45	12	"Son and a Gun"	December 30, 2012 (2012-12-30)
46	13	"Drunk and Dangerous"	January 6, 2013 (2013-01-06)
47	14	"Fatal Inferno"	January 14, 2013 (2013-01-14)
48	15	"Crystal Meth Compound"	January 21, 2013 (2013-01-21)
49	16	"Trooper Stalker"	January 28, 2013 (2013-01-28)
50	17	"Deep Woods Standoff"	February 4, 2013 (2013-02-04)
51	18	"Blacked Out & Belligerent"	February 11, 2013 (2013-02-11)
52	19	"Hot Drugs, Icy Streets"	February 25, 2013 (2013-02-25)
53	20	"Too Much Pot"	March 4, 2013 (2013-03-04)
54	21	"Chopper Down"	March 11, 2013 (2013-03-11)

Season 5 (2013)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
55	1	"Trail of Blood"	September 15, 2013 (2013-09-15)
56	2	"Loaded for Bear"	September 22, 2013 (2013-09-22)
57	3	"Bear Aware"	September 29, 2013 (2013-09-29)
58	4	"Lock 'N' Load Neighbors"	October 6, 2013 (2013-10-06)
59	5	"Smell of Death"	October 13, 2013 (2013-10-13)
60	6	"Burglars & Bears"	October 20, 2013 (2013-10-20)
61	7	"Hammered on the Holiday"	November 3, 2013 (2013-11-03)
62	8	"Carnival Chaos"	November 24, 2013 (2013-11-24)
63	9	"Wildest Calls"	December 1, 2013 (2013-12-01)
64	10	"Battling Demons"	December 1, 2013 (2013-12-01)
65	11	"Frozen Justice"	December 8, 2013 (2013-12-08)
66	12	"Shotgun Standoff"	December 8, 2013 (2013-12-08)

Season 6 (2014)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
67	1	"Guns, Cash, & Coke"	April 10, 2014 (2014-04-10)
Troopers in Fairbanks pursue a speeding driver, who crashes and flees to the woods. On capture, he is carrying a lot of money. A warranted search of the vehicle discloses a loaded pistol and several containers of drugs. A trooper flies E. from Kotzebue to villages on the Kobuk River, where he arrests and transports several bootleggers. A bad black bear bursts into the smokers' shelter at the Seward max. security prison. The cub (4 mo. old) is easily enticed to eat bait, allowing him to be caged and transported to a wildlife refuge.
68	2	"Meth, Knives, & Spears"	April 17, 2014 (2014-04-17)
69	3	"Burning Alaska"	April 24, 2014 (2014-04-24)
70	4	"One in the Chamber"	May 1, 2014 (2014-05-01)
71	5	"Crawl Space Capture"	May 8, 2014 (2014-05-08)
72	6	"In the Line of Duty"	August 19, 2014 (2014-08-19)
73	7	"Too Drunk To Drive"	August 26, 2014 (2014-08-26)
74	8	"Cut in the Gut"	September 2, 2014 (2014-09-02)
75	9	"Backwoods Bust"	September 9, 2014 (2014-09-09)
76	10	"Head-On Collision"	September 16, 2014 (2014-09-16)
77	11	"Cuff 'Em Countdown"	September 23, 2014 (2014-09-23)

Season 7 (2015)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
77	1	"Home Invasion Manhunt"	February 11, 2015 (2015-02-11)	902,000[17]
78	2	"Hairy Threat"	February 18, 2015 (2015-02-18)	706,000[18]
79	3	"Extreme Drug Busts"	February 18, 2015 (2015-02-18)	551,000[18]
80	4	"2-For-1 Takedown"	February 25, 2015 (2015-02-25)	875,000[19]
81	5	"Fearless on the Front Lines"	February 25, 2015 (2015-02-25)	752,000[19]
82	6	"Contraband and Kitchen Knives"	March 4, 2015 (2015-03-04)	632,000[20]
83	7	"Alaska's Most Wanted"	March 4, 2015 (2015-03-04)	542,000[20]
84	8	"NYPD to AST"	March 11, 2015 (2015-03-11)	659,000[21]
85	9	"Rock-Throwing Rampage"	March 18, 2015 (2015-03-18)	833,000[22]
Trooper from Palmer Post responds to neighborhood dispute involving rock throwing. Fairbanks trooper responds to domestic dispute where a drunk man assaults his sister. In Emmonak, a trooper investigating burglaries finds probationer who has violated conditions. Trooper in Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley assists pick-up driver to avoid frostbite, and a trooper from Mat-Su West post coordinates helicopter rescue of stranded snowmobilers.
86	10	"Dead-End Deranged"	March 25, 2015 (2015-03-25)	906,000[23]
Troopers track a fleeing felon through the woods near Wasilla after a high velocity vehicle chase ends with a car crash into the copse at the end of a dead-end road. A 'routine traffic stop' (10-36) finds an uncooperative driver, resulting in an arrest for DUI and the discovery of an undeclared, loaded pistol in the front seat of the vehicle. Trooper recruits at the Alaska Public Safety Training Academy in Sitka experience the early stages of hypothermia as they are led through a ten-minute activity in 43 °F (6 °C) sea water.
87	11	"Cliff Top Chaos"	April 1, 2015 (2015-04-01)	N/A
Troopers rescue solo hiker from cliff face in Denali Park; helicopter ride W of Fairbanks to check bear bait stations.
88	12	"Drugged, Drunk, & Deranged"	April 8, 2015 (2015-04-08)	N/A
Troopers go to the far reaches of the state to investigate a village store break-in. In Fairbanks, Troopers are called to respond to a repeat exposing violator at the local transfer station, and are faced with an aggressive confrontation.
89	13	"Asleep at the Wheel"	April 15, 2015 (2015-04-15)	N/A
Follow the heroes one last time as they refuse to give up in the face of danger, chase down burglary nightmares, and save lives that are on the brink of death. Troopers brave the severe conditions and the volatile criminals that ravage the state, without blinking an eye.

References

1. Andy Dehnart (August 28, 2009). "Fall 2009 reality TV show debut schedule". Reality Blurred.
2. Morrison, Eric (October 20, 2009). "Former JPD officer featured in TV series". Juneau Empire. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
3. "Photo Gallery – Alaska State Troopers". National Geographic Channel. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
4. "Alaska State Troopers back on NGC, Sunday, January 9". Monsters and Critics. December 18, 2010. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013.
5. "Where Moose and the Inebriated Roam". The New York Times. October 13, 2009.
6. "Teens found drinking at home of former Selawik 'fight club' host, troopers say". The Village. February 21, 2011. Archived from the original on May 21, 2012.
7. "Kentucky puppies named after Alaska State Troopers" (PDF). Alaska Department of Public Safety. December 30, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 15, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
8. "Alaska Department of Public Safety Highlighted through TV Productions" (PDF). Alaska Department of Public Safety. January 15, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 15, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
9. Bibel, Sara (August 14, 2013). "'Alaska State Troopers' Season 5 to Premiere Sunday, September 5 on National Geographic Channel". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013.
10. McDermott, Maeve (April 10, 2014). "The Alaska State Troopers Return Tonight for an All-New Season". National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
11. "State pulls plug on 'Alaska State Troopers' TV show". Anchorage Daily News. June 26, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
12. "Trooper Tage Brandel Toll". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved August 6, 2017.
13. Shedlock, Jerzy (May 2, 2014). "Pair of state troopers shot, killed in Tanana; local man arrested after standoff". Alaska Dispatch.
14. Thiessen, Mark (May 2, 2014). "2 Alaska State Troopers Killed, Person Detained". American Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014.
15. "Man arrested in deaths of Alaska State Troopers". The Washington Post. May 1, 2014. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014.
16. "In wake of Alaska State Troopers' deaths, Tanana struggles with grief". Alaska Dispatch. May 2, 2014.
17. Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 2.11.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
18. Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 2.18.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
19. Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 2.25.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
20. Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 3.4.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
21. Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals (& NetworkUpdate): 3.11.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
22. Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 3.18.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
23. Metcalf, Mitch. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 3.25.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Alaska State Troopers on IMDB