ALASKA'S NEWSPAPER

| Updated: 3:43 PM

Sen. Begich visits troops in Afghanistan

Sen. Mark Begich meets with Marika Steenblock from Petersburg at Camp Leatherneck January 14, 2012 in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich visits Afghanistan in mid-January, meeting Alaska-based military personnel from Fort Wainwright's 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in mid-January.

Coast Guard icebreaker escorts tanker through Bering Sea ice

The Russian-flagged tanker Renda steams toward Nome, Alaska, through a path in the Bering Sea ice broken up by the Coast Guard Cutter Healy Jan. 6, 2012.

A Russian tanker carrying fuel for an iced-in Nome that without a delivery could run out of crucial supplies before winter's end encountered ice early Friday in the eastern Bering Sea and was escorted by the Coast Guard Cutter Healy Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Read more

SOLDIER PROFILES

Alaska's Fallen Soldiers

Running list of profiles of Alaskan, or Alaska-based, soldiers who have died since 2003.

Airmen from Eielson use a stun gun on driver, 81

SPEEDING: Security team said he swore and tried to pull away.

FAIRBANKS -- Airmen from Eielson Air Force Base security forces used a Taser on an 81-year-old driver they say became belligerent after they gave him a ticket for going 11 mph over the speed limit on the Richardson Highway.

Story tools

Add to My Yahoo!

tool name

close
tool goes here

Glen M. Wilcox of Fairbanks said he was roughed up last Wednesday by four men.

An Eielson spokesman said they used a minimum amount of nonlethal force.

A criminal complaint filed in court said Wilcox refused to accept the ticket and sped down the highway.

"They waved to me and I thought that meant I could go on," Wilcox said. "They stopped me again and told me to get out of my car."

When he was stopped, documents say, he used profanity and tried to pull away from the airmen as they tried to handcuff him. Wilcox said he can't physically put his hands behind his back.

"I showed them I could barely touch my fingertips and they insisted," he said.

After several warnings, one of the airmen used a Taser on Wilcox to take him into custody. Wilcox said he was hurt and had to see a doctor for a bruised arm.

"It hurts like hell," he said. "I'm laying on the ground when they Tasered me. It's painful and very sharp."

Wilcox pleaded not guilty to resisting arrest and failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer.

Air Force regulations authorize law enforcement officials to use Tasers to arrest people who are actively resisting arrest or noncompliant with law enforcement orders, said Staff Sgt. James Stewart, a spokesman for Eielson.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that Wilcox was accused of a similar incident in May 1998 when Fairbanks International Airport police pulled him over.

ADVERTISEMENT

show comments

Comments

NEW STORY COMMENTS: Learn about our upgrade | Create an avatar in the new system »

By submitting your comment, you are agreeing to adn.com's user agreement.

hide comments


Find 'n' Save Daily DealGet the Deal!

Local Deals



Pets

Find puppies, kittens, and all pet supplies and services here. More...

other transportation

Other Transportation

Find great deals on bicycles, snowmachines, ATV's, watrcraft and airplanes. More...

Merchandise, Miscellaneous

Antiques, apparel, even the kitchen sink. Find deals on general merchandise here. More...

More great deals »

_