Office of Special Prosecutions Completes Review of an Officer Involved Shooting

October 1, 2026

(Anchorage, AK) - On Sept. 29, 2026, The Office of Special Prosecutions completed its review of an officer involved shooting incident from July 7, 2026, involving Alaska State Troopers Sgt. Brent Hatch and Thomas Aquino in Fairbanks. After a review of the evidence in the case and an analysis of the applicable law, the Office of Special Prosecutions determined it would not criminally charge Sgt. Hatch for the incident. The review determined that there was insufficient evidence to disprove, beyond a reasonable doubt, Sgt. Hatch's claim of self-defense.

CONTACT: Chief Assistant Attorney General Jenna Gruenstein, at (907) 269-6250 or [email protected].

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Department Media Contact: Information Officer Sam Curtis at [email protected] or (907) 269-6269.

Due to resource constraints, we no longer post links to referenced records. Records filed in a federal court are readily available at Docket Search or PACER, and records filed in a State of Alaska court are readily available from the Alaska Court System (Trial Courts - Alaska Court System and Search for an Appellate Case). Contact Sam Curtis to request a referenced record that is not readily available from a court or on the internet, or contact [email protected] to submit a formal Alaska Public Records Act request.