Crime & Justice

Long police standoff with suicidal man in Fairbanks ends with arrest

A standoff between a Fairbanks man threatening suicide and police ended with the man turning himself into authorities Tuesday afternoon after more than 10 hours of negotiations.

Fairbanks police, Alaska State Troopers, the university fire department and airport police all responded to the situation, which began in the early morning hours Tuesday and shut down a busy intersection in West Fairbanks.

"We had a tremendous amount of resources out there ... making sure no one died today," said Lt. Eric Jewkes of the Fairbanks Police Department.

Michael William Bracht, 38, turned himself in to police around 1:30 p.m., city public information officer Amber Courtney said. He was wanted on an outstanding warrant for escaping from the Northstar Center on Aug. 19, according to documents obtained from the Department of Corrections.

The Northstar Center provides temporary housing and transitional services to minimum security adult offenders.

The situation began around 2:30 a.m., when Fairbanks police made contact with Bracht in the parking lot of a Safeway store on University Avenue. Police attempted to block his red SUV with several patrol cars, but he rammed the vehicles and drove off.

"A 30-minute pursuit entailed," Courtney said. Bracht drove down Farmers Loop Road, the Johansen Expressway, and the Steese and Richardson highways, where he drove northbound in the southbound lane, she said.

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Police laid down spike strips "to hinder the vehicle" along the Johansen Expressway, and Bracht eventually pulled into the Justa Store gas station at Geist Road and Chena Pump Road.

He released a female passenger, later identified as his girlfriend, unharmed. Alone in the vehicle, he then brandished a firearm, Courtney said, and threatened suicide or "suicide by cop."

From roughly 3 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., police negotiated with Bracht via his cellphone. Fairbanks police had two negotiators on scene, Jewkes said. "Between the two of them they spent about 11 solid hours talking to him," Jewkes said.

"It was very up and down. His mood and demeanor had some really, pretty wide swings," Jewkes said. "He made it clear he had no issues with dying, he had no issues with killing."

Police eventually deployed a Long Range Acoustic Device, a focused sound generator meant to "make sure that they're not comfortable," Jewkes said.

"We try to motivate them to cooperate," Jewkes said.

Next, police shot pepper spray and tear gas into the car. The rounds penetrated the windows, and more chemical agents were thrown from the armored vehicle. Bracht remained in the vehicle.

After that, police used a pole attached to the armored vehicle to break out the rest of the car windows, to increase visibility and "keep him engaged" with police, Jewkes said.

Finally, police shot beanbag rounds at Bracht.

"He was hit with at least three bean bag rounds, possibly four," Jewkes said. "After that, he eventually came out of the vehicle and surrendered."

Bracht had asked to speak with his girlfriend and to smoke a cigarette. "After he was safe and calmed down and handcuffed, we allowed him to spend probably 10 or 15 minutes with his girlfriend and have a couple cigarettes," Jewkes said.

Bracht was medically evaluated at the scene, then taken to a Fairbanks hospital for further evaluation. He was deemed uninjured and taken to the Fairbanks Correctional Center. Jewkes said charges against Bracht would be filed Wednesday.

Jewkes said the incident "wreaked havoc" on access to the University West subdivision.

"A lot of people were inconvenienced," Jewkes said, but "we had somebody that really, really wanted to die, and your combined local law enforcement prevented that, and it's a huge deal."

Online court records show two reopened court cases on Aug. 8 for Bracht due to probation violations: a 2013 case in which Bracht plead guilty to driving under the influence, and a 2014 case in which he plead guilty to theft in the third degree.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

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