Original subtitles

(suspenseful tone)

- [peyton] here we go.

Policing in alaska is an adventure.

- Other side. - Other side.

(sirens blaring)

- [adam] it's not always people we have to worry about.

- [miguel] there's only two officers

protecting this whole town.

- [mike] we still have homicides.

We still have violent crime.

(gun shots)

- [christopher] in the state of alaska,

everybody's gonna have firearms.

Set the keys on top of the roof!

- Set the keys on top of the roof now!

(yelling)

♪♪

(bear growls)

- [dispatcher on radio] headed to 25 - 14.

- [officer] hands behind your back.

(gunshots)

♪♪

- [peyton] policing in alaska is harder

than it is in the lower 48.

Everybody here has guns.

We have a real high crime rate.

It's just really really cold.

It's totally different than any other place.

Cds-5, we're entering the woods.

We're gonna be paralleling western.

(rustling)

- whoa. - Shh, here.

- [peyton] quiet, quiet.

- Yeah.

Oh, there you go.

- My name is peyton meredith. (heavy metal music)

I'm a patrol sergeant

with the fairbanks police department.

(digital chirping)

(digital chirping)

it's a busy department, crime wise.

Drugs and alcohol and homicides.

There's only so many of us in our department.

We have a city of over 100,000 people

and we have four officers on mid-shift tonight

and then myself, it's crazy.

(radio chatter) whoa, this is icy.

That's a really really big snow blower.

(sirens blaring)

cds-5 can you get the details on that.

The airport police tried to pull over a car,

a guy got out, it's a foot bail.

The person who ran from the car's got warrants.

And I got a mouth full of gummy bears.

(laughing)

I'm gonna let the k-9 unit pull up in front.

- Oh no.

Let me go get my hat real quick.

- [rob] okay, man.

- [peyton] oh yeah, that's a good long stride there.

- [rob] yeah, he's definitely runnin'.

- [peyton] the woods where he ran into,

it's not a lighted area,

it's pretty dark out here.

Ready?

Here we go.

(barking)

cds-5, we're entering the woods.

We're gonna be paralleling western.

What if this guy's laid up in the woods

someplace just waiting on us?

If he has a weapon or something.

There's gonna be some

close-quarters combat real quick.

That's a hole right there.

Cds-5, we're in a good track through fresh snow.

- [rob] here!

- [peyton] yeah.

There's tracks this way too.

- [peyton] yeah, I think you're right.

- Yeah, I'm with you.

(snow crunching)

cds-5, I think we're kind of moved

toward a southernly direction now.

- [rob] here.

Here!

- [peyton] hey, rob?

Hold up real quick.

Head west.

(dog whining)

there's a cubby trap set right there.

Here, hold him for a second.

Those cubby sets are people trappin' lynx

or fox or whatever.

Yeah, I wouldn't send him in there.

Stand by one second.

There's quite a few intersecting trails

right back here and looks like a trap line.

We're just tryin' to make our way through it.

The farther we get and the longer

we start chasin' this guy through the woods,

my fingers are startin' to get cold,

my ears are startin' to get cold.

- [rob] yeah, come this way.

(in the distance) - [officer] yeah?

Yeah, come here.

- [peyton] are they frozen or are they?

- [rob] stay still.

- I just want to see what you thought.

That's frozen. - Is it, okay.

- [rob] yeah, that's from at least yesterday.

- [peyton] aw dude, he got back here on these trails.

Yeah, he didn't come this way.

(sighing) frustrating.

(suspenseful music) (snow crunching)

we had him back there in the woods,

we were on his track

but we got into all those trails back in there

and there's a trap line back in there,

people got like cubby sets and the dog going, "no, no"

yeah, oh yeah. - That's not good.

- No.

- [peyton] there you go, that's him right there.

(digital chirping)

(digital chirping)

(heavy metal music)

- kodiak is the country's second largest island.

You can only access the island

via plane or boat.

It's it's own unique, little alaska biome.

We're a small rural bush community

but we still homicides,

we still have violent crime,

and we have drug related crimes.

We do have a constant challenge of understaffing.

So, we recruit people,

not just from our own backyard,

but also from the lower 48.

(dramatic music)

- I'm officer adam gebert.

I've been here for over 2 1/2 years.

And prior to that I worked for

the police department in wisconsin.

Alaska is wisconsin on steroids.

The call volume is significantly higher.

Right now, officer zarate and I

are the only two on tonight.

- Officer gebert and I are working alone

'til 6:00 a.M., so 12 hours straight.

There's only two officers

essentially protecting this whole town.

Close to 7,000 people.

(suspenseful music)

- you know you can't be drinkin' alcohol inside of a vehicle?

- [suspect] no!

- How much have you guys had to drink tonight?

- [miguel] the owner of the house told these two

intoxicated females to leave.

- [home owner] both are on condition.

- They refused to leave

after he told them three times.

When he threatened to call the police,

one of them got aggressive

and saw him dialing 911 and charged at him.

He ran and barricaded himself in the bathroom

and they were bangin' on the bathroom door

tryin' to grab him.

- How much have you had to drink tonight?

- [suspect] honey.

- [suspect 2] we have a right--

- I'm not your honey, ma'am.

I'm officer gebert. - I know you're not.

- [suspect] I know you're (beep) not.

- Both of these females are not allowed to be drinking.

They signed a court order, agreed to that condition.

They're both intoxicated.

- Go ahead and step out, come on.

(yelling)

I need you guys to step out.

- [suspect 2] no. - Let go of her.

Let go of her.

Step over here. (suspects indistinct talking)

- [suspect] out of the way.

- [adam] one of you step out first

or I'm gonna pull you both outta the car.

(indiscinct cross talk)

- [adam] let go of her now! - [miguel] just step...

- [suspect] ow!

- [miguel] you put your hands behind your back

or you're gonna get pepper sprayed.

(handcuffs clicking)

- [adam] I need you to be cooperative.

(suspect cursing) (beep)

don't push back. (clicking)

- [suspect] ow, my legs!

- [suspect] (beep) you guys.

- I've dealt with both of these females before.

They are very combative.

Breath and relax. - (beep) you!

You guys are (beep).

- Other police officers have told me that

she'll spit in your face

so I put a spit mask on her to make sure

because she was being pretty aggressive with me.

It's just mesh. - Why are you doin' that?

I did not spit on you.

- There you go, you're on the seat, turn.

We tried to contain 'em.

The situation was just not conducive for tonight.

Maybe a third officer might have been helpful here

but in alaska, you gotta work with what you got

and sometimes two is all ya' got.

(dramatic music)

(digital chirping)

(wind howling)

- [peyton] policing in fairbanks,

it is a challenge in the wintertime.

That is something that other departments

just don't have to deal with.

When it's like 30, 40 below,

it's a life and death thing up here

when it gets that cold,

I mean, it's serious business.

(suspenseful rhythm)

(snow crunching) (heavy breathing)

the person who ran from the car

has got warrants.

State troopers are on the scene as well.

Hey, rob?

He said jumped the fence headed back toward dale.

- [rob] nah, he turned, he went up that drive.

He turned, he went right here.

- Okay.

(dog barking)

- [peyton] 25-s5 beyond me.

(barking)

- [rob] you can see the tracks in this yard.

- [peyton] oh yeah, see there's no snow on top of this.

Oh yeah, he went right back up that way.

These situations get dangerous

in a residential area.

He could be hiding anywhere amongst these houses.

(snow crunching)

hey, show us your hands!

Hands now!

(dramatic music)

hands, hands, hands!

- [rob] keep your hands up.

You went up the ladder, get down the ladder.

(coughing)

- [peyton] I got hands on, I got hands on him.

- [peyton] come on, dude.

- Other side, other side.

You're shivering.

- [rob] show me your hands!

- [rob] if that guy had a gun

he coulda just picked us off, you know.

- [peyton] there's a ladder around the back.

Let's go grab that, on the back patio,

let's bring it around here,

make it easier to get down

and we'll deal with it when he comes down.

(beep) (suspect cursing)

- [peyton] I know, man.

We can get you a warm one once we get ya' down, brother.

We're gettin' a ladder for ya', all right.

- [peyton] no, no, don't jump, don't jump,

don't jump, we're bringin' a ladder.

- [rob] we want you to work your way

down this ladder, man.

- [rob] don't worry about that, man.

- [suspect] (beep) damn it!

Mother (beep).

- [peyton] here we go, here we go.

- [peyton] hang on one second,

let me grab the ladder.

I don't want you to fall, okay?

Okay, you ready, here he comes, here he comes.

You guys ready, okay, come on.

Come on down, come on, come on.

Put your hands behind your back,

you all right?

You have any guns or anything

or pocket knives? - No.

- Hey, how 'bout any needles? - No sir.

Man. (beep)

- [peyton] you're doin' all right,

we're gonna warm you up.

♪♪

-oh, I'm gonna get in and warm up now.

Woo, man! (radio chatter)

(sighing) all's well that ended well

after an hour and a half through the snow.

My feet are soakin' wet.

Wouldn't even matter if I changed my socks

'cause the inside of my shoes are wet.

(digital chirping)

(country music)

- all right.

(dog whining)

go get 'em red.

When it comes to hunting and fishing,

alaska totally knocks it outta the ballpark.

A big part of my movin' to alaska

is being able to live what I call

the 70% subsistence lifestyle.

Being able to harvest what I eat.

We got elk meat, goat, and venison burger,

venison brats. (rifle shots)

this is one reason why alaskans love their guns.

Pretty much everyone here is armed.

So as police officers, it's something

we always keep in the back of our mind.

(suspenseful rhythm)

all right, so real quick,

have you had anything to drink tonight?

- Nothin' to drink. - Nothin' to drink?

- [suspect] no sir.

- Have you smoked any marijuana tonight?

- [suspect] to be honest with you, yes.

Just a couple bowls within the past two hours.

- Of weed? - Of marijuana, sir.

- [adam] okay.

(dramatic music)

(traffic sounds)

- all right, can you put

your hands up on the dashboard?

Is it chambered?

- It's chambered, okay.

- Right now, officer gebert conducted a traffic stop.

I'm gonna go back him up.

- So what I'm gonna have you do

is I'm just gonna have you take your right hand,

I'm gonna have you hit the belt buckle

and then just bring it right back up for me, okay?

All right, perfect.

Just don't put your hands in your pockets

or anything, okay?

Can you step out for me?

And then we're just gonna step

to the back of the vehicle.

Put your hands up there.

All right, any other firearms on you?

- [suspect] not on me, sir.

- It's in the truck?

- It's legal to carry a firearm

and have it concealed or unconcealed

here in this state as long as you're not a felon.

- [adam] dismantled firearm.

- That was one of the first things I noticed,

as soon as I moved here from california.

I'm like, "man, everything's illegal in california."

and up here, I just went straight

to the gun store and bought a gun,

it took me probably two minutes.

Passed the background check really quick

and I was out with a nice little shotgun.

This is pretty funny.

It's an actual coffee mug but underneath,

attached to it is a marijuana smoking device.

(country music)

- [adam] whether you agree with

legal marijuana or not, it makes our job

of recognizing impairment more complicated.

Have you ever done a field sobriety test before?

- This is my first one, sir. - All right.

And what I'll have you do

is I'll have you just follow

the tip of my finger with your eyes

and your eyes only, do not move your head.

Do you understand? - Hm mm.

- [adam] don't look away man.

Don't go ahead of it either. - Okay.

- You can stop. - Okay.

- All right, I feel like

you're a little impaired right now.

I'm gonna have to place you under arrest for dui.

We'll go ahead and get him back to the jail,

take care of our evidence

and continue the dui process.

(truck beeping)

- I'm really always thankful

that officer gebert's always very proactive

when it comes to dui.

The number one thing is just getting

a dangerous driver off the road.

- Stand by, fire! (gun shots)

- I've been on with the fairbanks police

for a little over six months now.

I was born and raised in hampton, virginia.

I got stationed up here in the army.

Served here about six years

and I loved alaska so much

that I worked pipeline.

Then, opportunity came up

to be a police officer.

It gets cold up here.

When it's negative 40, negative 50,

and you go out to assist on a traffic stop

or something, you want to just make it quick

because it gets to your bones.

I have a little bit of anxiety, being the new guy,

'cause you don't want to make a bad impression.

So, I like to stay proactive.

(radio chatter)

we'll go ahead over to the javovich place,

I know there's been some stolen vehicles

found there in the past,

there's a lot of doper traffic,

see what we can find.

Pretty busy over here today.

The car theft rate in alaska

seems to be pretty high.

In wintertime, people leavin' their vehicles

running to warm 'em up,

a door checker will come by, open up the door

and see the keys in there and drive off.

Run a couple of these plates

to see if we got anything stolen.

That golf's here, I think...

- [christopher] it's stolen.

(sirens blaring)

(radio chatter)

10-13, conducting a felony stop.

You in the vehicle, roll down the window,

set the keys on top of the roof.

Set the keys on top of the roof now!

(suspensful music)

- puttin' on the vest and goin' out there,

you come across people that hate you

and stab you in the back in a heartbeat.

You hear everyday.

- [officer] 446 shots fired, shots fired,

officer down. - Officer down, officer down!

(sirens blaring) - and you wonder,

could that happen to me?

But, we're short-staffed and a lot of times

you're not gonna be able to wait for backup.

And without backup, anything could go south quickly.

Keep your hands where I can see 'em!

10-13, conducting a felony stop.

How many people are in the vehicle?

- Please step outta the vehicle

and face away from me now.

Step back to the sound of my voice.

Okay, stop right there.

Just stay right there until I tell you to do so,

do you understand?

Do you understand! (dramatic music)

face away.

(sirens blaring)

(car doors slamming)

this vehicle's stolen.

- Yeah, is it your vehicle? - No.

- [christopher] 10-13, vehicle's clear, one detained.

- I'm surprised he stopped.

(country music)

I just did a single officer felony traffic stop

on a stolen vehicle.

(laughing) - I can't believe it.

(digital chirping)

- kodiak's a small city,

out here on a big island.

It's not always people we have to worry about.

The bear calls are gettin' to be

more and more prevalent around here.

We, as police officers, are the one's

that have to step in and take care of it.

If we don't have to kill a bear,

we absolutely don't do it.

These are the five primary non-lethal rounds

that we use in our twelve gauge shotgun

for bear hazing. (shotgun cocking)

we got three rubber rounds.

This is a rubber ball, rubber slug,

and rubber buckshot. (gun shooting)

it's got the spread of pellets

all the way from up here to down here.

If we have a larger bear,

this is the beanbag rounds

that pack a little more punch.

(gun shot)

our cracker rounds (gun shot)

shoot a little explosive device.

This'll scare 'em outta the area.

When we have a problem bear that crosses that line

from just being a nuisance bear

then we have to use lethal force.

But, we always try to make it

an absolute last resort.

- 10-4, we'll be en route.

(engine revving)

- [officer] bring lethal.

- There he is.

It's got the taste of blood now.

If it doesn't stop at pets,

who knows what it'll stop at.

(shotgun chambering)

- it went that way.

It should be right around here so move slow.

(barking) shh.

Shh.

There he is.

- [adam] okay.

- I'll go back to the road.

Where's your shotgun? - Behind you.

- Your shotgun's behind? - Yeah.

- Can you guys start goin back behind me.

Just move slow.

All right, we'll leave him here.

Leave 'em here, here's your gun.

- [officer] 19-5, what's your 20?

- It was off in the woods,

I had a shot at it,

wasn't clear, I was just head-on.

- [mike] yeah, I need you out here with a gun

'cause this bear's goin' around

lookin' for other dogs.

- [adam] there's a bear in the neighborhood

so just be careful with the dog outside.

Ma'am, there's a bear in the neighborhood.

- Oh yeah, we're not goin' out.

- Okay.

(barking)

oh, there it is. (barking)

he's comin' up the lower road we just crossed.

(car door slamming)

I'm hot and ready to go. - Yep, I'm ready to roll.

- [miguel] I'm doin' all slugs.

So, we're following it.

I can hear it, slow down. (rhythmic drumming)

(crickets chirping)

it's probably just sitting there watching us.

(wind howling)

(crickets chirping)

- [adam] we need to get this bear put down.

- [miguel] headquarters, k-19.

We lost sight of the bear.

- We did a pretty good sweep of the area,

lost the bear somewhere in all that heavy cover.

But for now, looks like he gave us the slip.

(light music) got a little bloody

carrying the dog back.

Bears comin' into town,

it is an unfortunate reality of livin' out here.

We're gonna cross paths with him eventually.

- All right, I'm out. - All right.

- Hey, if you need anything you call me.

- Yep. - You know the drill.

I'll see you not in the morning, but later.

- You clean your boots. (laughing)

- it's pretty brazen, when I was pullin' up,

it wasn't backin' up.

It almost reminded me of the junkyard dog,

that's tough and just stands there and just stares,

that's kinds what the bear was doing.

- Yeah, it was pretty crazy.

We should probably get back out on patrol.

(intense music)

- the alcohol drinkin' in this town is just silly.

And I think that's really statewide

and not just a fairbanks problem.

We deal with alcohol related calls

more than we do drug related calls.

We can arrest 100 people for being drunk in public

but you're not gonna deter 'em.

- [dispatcher] 9-1-1, what city?

- All right, we're goin' to our

first bar fight of the night.

People can't just go to the bar

and have a good time.

- I'll be en route to the location.

Fairbanks police, what's goin' on?

- I'm the bartender. - I'm out here talking--

- [christopher] hey, go step over there.

- He rushed me from behind, shoved me.

- [christopher] do you want to go to jail?

What am I goin' to jail for?

- [peyton] we'll get him trespassin',

we'll get him outta here, okay?

- 'preciate it. - I asked a question.

- [christopher] put your hands behind your back.

- [christopher] disorderly conduct.

- Come on, get up.

- [peyton] roll over on your butt, man.

(suspect making silly noises)

- [christopher] what is in this?

- Stop moving.

- This is gonna be a problem all night.

(digital chirping)

(wind howling)

- alaska, as a whole,

has a pretty significant drug problem.

We have a lot of different avenues

that the drugs can come in.

We got the harbors, a lot of boats, planes.

It's tough but we try to stay on top of it.

- So we're headed to go see

if we can't catch up with a female,

she's got an outstanding warrant for $20,000.

- A year ago, we had a really really big drug bust

at one of the pizza parlors here.

This female fled to anchorage

and we've been lookin' for her quite awhile.

(engine revving) (sirens blaring)

- [miguel] looks like the truck.

- [dispatcher] 21-49.

- [adam] hey ma'am, hey!

You're under arrest!

(dramatic music)

-you're under arrest!

- Watch out, watch out, watch out!

(woman screaming) get on the ground!

(woman screaming)

- get down right now! - Stay right there!

Stay right there.

Any weapons on you, man? - No.

- [suspect] can I please talk to my boyfriend please?

- [adam] not right now.

- [officer] try to control your breathing, all right.

Take a deep breath in and breath out.

(crying)

- [adam] you got tasered because you ran.

You knew you had your warrant and you ran.

So that's why you got tasered.

(siren blaring) - anytime we tase someone

the probes penetrate their skin

so we call the medics to take a look at them

just to make sure they're okay.

- [emt] you okay, how's your breathin' right now?

(whining)

she was breathing heavy when I got here.

- Not good. - Go ahead and stand up,

tuck your feet under ya'

and we'll push you forward.

All right, before we go in there,

I'm gonna empty your pockets, okay?

Do you have anything illegal in the car?

- [suspect] no. - Any drugs?

- [suspect] no. - What's gonna happen

is your truck is gonna be towed

and I'm going to be writing a search warrant, okay?

(traffic sounds)

(intense rock music)

aha, I got a scale,

there's a brown tar-like residue on there.

- [miguel] there's a meth pipe

in the center console right over here.

That's the powder heroin. - Oh yeah, that's definitely.

- Ooh, what is that? - Something partially burnt.

- This is definitely a drug treasure trove.

The people in this community

are sick and tired of this.

We're tired of it too.

So, every time we find a vehicle like this

we're able to get this stuff off the streets.

- My goal is to be out there at night

showing to the people that are selling,

whatever, any type of illegal drug,

that I'm out there on the street

and I'm gonna be lookin' for ya'

and when I find you, you will go to jail

and you will have to pay for what you did.

♪♪

- and it's so icy out tonight.

(groaning)

officer whitson is on top of birch hill cemetery

which is a real common place

for people to go to shoot up dope and stuff.

It's never any good when you get people

up at the top of that cemetery.

(radio chatter)

look how icy this is.

It's just like a skatin' rink right here.

Whoa, yeah buddy.

Whoa buddy.

Woo hoo.

There we go.

- Oh okay. (laughing)

all right, let's get outta here.

There just up here havin' a good time together.

Havin' relations.

It's a pretty view though, right?

Oh man, whoops, hit the gas.

- Brody got stuck up on the hill.

- [officer] you better be quick to them brakes, baby.

When we get you out, you gotta buy pizza.

(laughing)

oh boy, stop! - This about to get real.

- [officer] I got a good feeling

'cause we're gettin' pizza, dog.

He's ready! (laughing)

- oh, what could possibly go wrong?

- [officer] keep going, you gotta go right more.

(laughing) - more, more!

Don't move!

Turn it hard the other way.

- There you go. - Awe!

- [peyton] it's straight.

- [officer] see if you can go forward now.

(yelling) go!

Cut it to the right and just nail it.

There we go, keep going!

Keep going! - Watch your tires!

- Oh yeah, we're done. (laughing)

look how far we made it!

All right, brody! (laughing)

- I give up.

I called a tow truck.

He'll catch hell for the next couple of days.

He knows he's gotta buy us all pizza

for getting stuck.

You never know what you're gonna be doing

from one minute to the next in this job.

One minute you're drivin'

80 miles and hour down the highway on ice,

next minute you're in a cemetery

getting cars unstuck. (rock music)

what's next?