FAIRBANKS — As he argued with two state troopers who refused to let him go inside his house, Arvin Kangas claimed they were paranoid about him grabbing a gun inside and using it against them.
Arvin had claimed repeatedly that he would rather die than be arrested and go to jail, but he complained that he was the one whose life was at risk.
"You're going to kill me; I'm not going to kill you," he snapped at Sgt. Patrick "Scott" Johnson and Trooper Gabe Rich.
Johnson tried to calm Kangas down, saying he knew weapons were inside and it would be safer if Arvin's wife went in to retrieve his jacket and wallet; Arvin could go to the bathroom in another building as soon as he was arrested.
"Just like you have a wife and kids, I have a wife and kids," Johnson told him after the statement about paranoia. "Just like I want to go home to them at the end of every day. So that being paranoid kind of keeps me alive. I don't know you, Arvin; you're probably a nice guy."
One minute later, Johnson and Rich lay dead just inside the front door of the Kangas house, victims of an ambush they had no reason to expect.
A Fairbanks jury is hearing evidence of first- and second-degree murder charges against Nathanial "Satch" Kangas, who was inside the house in Tanana as his father argued with the troopers outside on May 1, 2014.
The taped final minutes of the lives of Johnson and Rich were replayed in Fairbanks Superior Court Tuesday. Unlike the notorious police tapes that have gained so much national attention in recent years of officers mistreating the public, these recordings tell a different story.
They show that Johnson and Rich responded to nonstop profanity and insults from Arvin Kangas with patience and a steady manner. No matter what the suspect said that day along the banks of the Yukon River, the troopers refused to respond in kind.
As the tragedy was replayed for the jury and the gallery, there was some sobbing and drying of eyes but otherwise the courtroom was still.
The most haunting part was the nearly half-hour of recorded silence that followed their deaths inside the house. That ended when a trooper pilot and physician assistant in the village arrived at the house, filling in as emergency responders after the double homicide.
Johnson and Rich wore audio recorders that kept operating after they were gunned down, providing the key evidence to prove at a trial a year ago that Arvin manipulated the death scene to make it appear the troopers had reached for their guns. His son faces a similar charge in addition to the murder allegations.
It was hard to listen to the tapes, knowing what was to come.
My overall impression is that the troopers handled themselves in a dignified manner under trying circumstances.
They had correctly sized up Kangas as a threat but had no reason to suspect that his son would open fire on them after Arvin resisted arrest.
Defense attorney Greg Parvin has admitted that Nathanial shot the men but that it was an impulsive act, which justifies a reduced charge. The defense is also planing to argue that he acted in the heat of passion as a partial defense.
Johnson and Rich drew the task of arresting the elder Kangas because of a confrontation the man had with village public safety officer Mark Halgin the day before.
In a stream of vitriol, Arvin claimed VPSO Mark Haglin only cared about the white people in Tanana and that this had all started with an unpaid bill for a couch. Johnson said Arvin was wrong about Haglin, and that a threat against the VPSO wasn't a civil matter.
They kept talking but Arvin stayed hostile, claiming that his tax dollars were being wasted.
"You're going to have to f------ kill me, that's all. Just kill me," Arvin told the troopers and VPSO on the recording. "I'm not going to put up with your neocolonial bankers' bull----. I mean, we're subjugated. We're subjugated. This is an illegal action."
With a mix of profanity and repeated complaints about neocolonial bankers and subjugation, Arvin said he did not recognize the justice system or the authority of the troopers and that the "Athabascan nation" ought to do something.
"The bankers are f------ behind all this," he said.
"You people came into this country and we're subjugated. Don't f------ b------- me that we're not," he said.
For more than 15 minutes, Johnson and Rich kept calm and tried to resolve the situation without force and with even voices.
"I've never met you before. Sgt. Johnson here has never met you before. So how can you say that we're harassing you?" asked Rich. At another point, either he or Johnson said, "We don't expect everyone to love us, OK?"
When Arvin's wife was allowed to enter the house to get Arvin's things, she can be heard on the tape calling her son's name as she walked in.
She found Nathanial in a bedroom with the family Ruger Mini-14 rifle, asked him to put it down and told him "No," but did not take it away from him, Judy Kangas testified Monday.
Outside on the porch, Johnson made one last effort at keeping the peace.
"I'm giving you every benefit of the doubt for us to resolve this peacefully, OK? I don't want to have to charge you with another charge, resisting arrest or anything," he said.
A moment later, Rich repeated the warning about not letting Arvin go inside but the man moved for the door.
There were sounds of a struggle and then came seven gunshots in two seconds.
Shouting, screaming and wailing followed. The shooter cried that he was sorry, his father yelled that the young man would be going to jail and the sounds of labored breathing soon subsided.
It was two years ago Tuesday that 4,000 people attended a memorial service for the two troopers in Fairbanks at which their dedication and commitment drew many tributes. The recordings confirm their professionalism.
Dermot Cole has been a journalist in Fairbanks for 40 years. The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.