commentary by Patrick H. Moore
One problem with living way out in the Outback is that you may develop an aversion to strangers, especially if you sense they’re from the Big City. If the strangers are law enforcement officers from the Big City you may react even more negatively, especially if you’re a hot-headed 19-year-old boy and the law enforcement strangers from the Big City are busily trying to arrest your father.
This is unfortunately what happened to Nathanial Lee Kangas in Tanana, Alaska, a remote village, population 238, located approximately 130 miles east of Fairbanks. Tanana is so isolated that the only way to get there (if you’re coming from the Big City) is by plane.
It appears that Nathanial’s father, 58-year-old Arvin Kangas, is also cursed with the “hot-head” gene, which is what led young Nathanial to bushwhack two Alaska State Troopers, shooting them in the back with an assault rifle, while they grappled with Arvin trying to arrest him.
The two deceased state troopers, Gabriel “Gabe” Rich and Sgt. Patrick “Scott” Johnson, had flown into Tanana on Thursday following up on a complaint lodged by the village’s unarmed public safety officer, Mark Haglin. The troopers’ goal was to arrest the cantankerous Arvin for driving without a license and threatening Haglin with a rifle.
It seems that little birdies had informed Haglin that although the elder Kangas was driving around the village, he lacked a driver’s license. Thus, unless he chose to simply ignore the problem, Haglin had little choice other than to confront Old Kangas. Perhaps it would have been wiser for Haglin to speak with Kangas in a more public forum, but instead he moseyed over to Kangas’ home to discuss the matter.
According to the charging document, rather than discussing the problem in a civil manner, ArvinKangas pointed to a rifle he kept handy and suggested he would use it if Haglin did not vacate the premises. This, in turn, led to Haglin contacting the state troopers, who obtained an arrest warrant and flew to Tanana where they touched base with Haglin, who then led them to Kangas’ home. This was on Thursday, one day after the initial confrontation.
True to form, Kangas refused to cooperate with the troopers after being informed that they had a warrant for his arrest. He reportedly tried to run back inside his house (perhaps to fetch a firearm?). Troopers Rich and Johnson pursued, and a scuffle ensued.
That’s when Nathanial Kangas appeared with an assault rifle and made the dim-witted decision to shoot both officers in the back. Nathanial then pointed the weapon at Haglin, but lowered it and Haglin was able to flee. (Thus, we see that although the kid was willing and able to gun down the lawmen from the Big City, he drew the line at shooting a local whom he undoubtedly knew personally.)
Haglin mustered up some reinforcements with whose assistance he was able to detain Nathanial Kangas until more troopers arrived.
What is curious about this whole unfortunate affair is the fact that Nathanial Kangas, upon being arrested, “spontaneously stated that he was sorry for doing ‘it’ and that he shot the troopers because the troopers were wrestling with Arvin,” according to the court documents.
Old Arvin Kangas was also arrested and is being held in Fairbanks.
When Nathanial appeared in a Fairbanks courtroom two days after his arrest, he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and a count of third-degree assault. Bail was set at $2 million.
After setting bail, the judge asked Kangas if he had anything to say regarding the bail amount.
Apparently the boy did not, but he did say, “I’m sorry,” according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
The Fairbanks courthouse was packed and the walls were lined with law enforcement officers of several agencies as Kangas, wearing an orange jumpsuit, was escorted into the court. Civilians in attendance were confronted by the sight of emotional officers hugging and consoling each other at the hearing.
Nathanial’s mother, Judy, and his younger brother, Albert, each gave brief apologies:
“I want to tell everybody, the families, from the bottom of my heart that I am sorry,” Judy Kangas said as she choked back tears.
Meanwhile on Saturday, funeral processions were held for the bodies of Rich and Johnson, which were taken from Anchorage to Fairbanks following their release from the M.E.’s office.
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Perhaps you might be wondering why village public safety officers such as Haglin do not carry firearms, since nearly everyone else in America seems to want to. Apparently the good people of Alaska are wondering the same thing. In fact, a bill was passed this year that would allow for the arming of the officers, who serve as first responders in rural communities which are often located hours or days, depending on the weather, from the nearest state trooper.
The deceased troopers, Rich and Johnson, were occasionally featured on the National Geographic Channel show “Alaska State Troopers,” which features multiple troopers patrolling the state’s wild terrain. The troopers were not filming at the time of their deaths.
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In response to this very sad tale, I have only this to say. If you’re a hothead, you should probably stay away from guns. You shouldn’t own one or use one. You probably shouldn’t come within 100 yards of one.
But that’s not how they roll in Alaska, which is one of the more heavily armed states in the union. In fact, several years ago when I was up in Alaska on a Federal case, I left the lawyer’s office in Anchorage at about 5:00 pm and heard a young man talking loudly into his cellphone. He was jabbering about guns with a friend; the two of them were apparently counting up the number of guns they had in their possession. Although I couldn’t stick around for a final tally, by the time I was out of ear shot the number had risen to 12 and was apparently still climbing.