A jury has acquitted a former Soldotna police officer on a fourth-degree domestic violence assault charge. The case prompted a review of the Soldotna Police Department’s officer misconduct policy.
Fifty-one-year old David Bower was arrested last summer after a family member told Alaska State Troopers he assaulted them. At the time, Bower was a 19-year veteran of the Soldotna Police Department. The allegations were investigated by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s Soldotna Major Crimes Unit.
Bower was charged with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Alaska law says someone commits the crime of assault in the fourth degree when that person recklessly causes injury to another person.
Charging documents include accounts from four people who witnessed the alleged assault, including Bower. The document describes the family member striking Bower during an argument, and Bower knocking them to the ground and putting them in a chokehold when they continued struggling.
According to charging documents, Bower admitted to being intoxicated during the time of the alleged assault, and told investigators he struggles with alcohol use. The report says children in the Bower household had previously called 911 two times to report domestic abuse. In both cases, the Soldotna Police Department responded to the house. No charges were filed.
KDLL does not publish information that could identify a victim of domestic violence.
After a five-day trial the last week of June, a jury found Bower not guilty. The Office of Special Prosecutions, which handled the case, dropped an additional charge Bower faced for violating conditions of release.
Andy Pevehouse is Bower’s attorney. He argued Bower acted in defense of himself and his property during the altercation. He’s consistently argued Bower was treated differently by prosecutors because he was a police officer.
“This really was — it was just a family fight that really was not particularly bad, and probably not all that different than what happens in a lot of households,” he said. “But I think because Mr. Bower was a police officer at the time that he really was kind of put under the microscope, and I really don't think that — I think if he hadn't been a police officer, I don't think that this case would have been charged the way there was.”
Pevehouse said Bower considered taking a plea deal, but ultimately opted to go to trial.
“Mr. Bower was very clear from the beginning that he hadn’t done anything wrong, didn’t believe he had done anything wrong,” he said. “So that, yes, there were plea discussions, but ultimately, you know, he wasn’t going to plead to something that he didn’t believe he had committed, something he hadn’t done.”
A key point of disagreement between the defense and prosecution was whether jurors should be allowed to hear testimony about previous alleged conduct by Bower, including alcohol use and alleged domestic violence.
Pevehouse argued such testimony would violate Alaska Evidence Rule 404.
“Let's say you've been convicted of theft 10 other times in the past, like a jury might not necessarily get to hear that, because it's actually — even though it, you know, it might show, ‘Oh, yeah, this guy is likely to have committed theft this time, because he's done it a bunch of other times,’ you know, the way our justice system works, we actually would not let that in,” Pevehouse said. “Specifically, because then the jury might convict you based on what you've done in the past, instead of what you've actually done in this instant case.”
The jury was not permitted to hear the family member’s testimony about Bower’s past behavior. Pevehouse also argued the family member’s autism makes them an unreliable reporter. He said testimony suggested the family member’s perception of danger was disproportionate to what actually happened.
“He really was just responding in a way that was reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances,” he said. “You know, certainly not ideal — any kind of fight between family members is never ideal. But in terms of, you know, whether it was an assault, the jury decided it wasn't.”
Pevehouse said Bower’s actions may have qualified as an assault, but that there are applicable defense arguments.
“You can commit an act that in a vacuum would be an assault,” he said. “But if you do it in response to someone else's unlawful use of force against you, it's not an assault, it's basically the jury is required to acquit you even though the acts would otherwise potentially be an assault.”
After Bower was arrested, he was placed on paid administrative leave by the city of Soldotna. While on leave, he crossed 20 years with the department, meaning he’s eligible for public employee retirement benefits. Soldotna City Manager Janette Bower — unrelated to David — said he resigned while on leave, effective April 1, 2024.
Then-Police Chief Gene Meek launched an internal review into department policies regarding officer misconduct after Bower was arrested. Meek resigned in May, but said last week that a directive he issued shortly after Bower’s arrest is still in effect. That directive requires Soldotna officers to refer criminal complaints involving another officer to the Alaska State Troopers or the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.
Pevehouse said details in the initial charging document about the two previous instances where Soldotna Police responded to Bower’s house gave the impression the department had not acted properly.
“I think it’s fair to say that the Alaska Bureau of Investigation … that their early investigation led them to think that potentially there was some sort of coverup by the Soldotna Police Department,” he said. “That they were responding to the Bower house and sort of sweeping under the rug any bad conduct by David Bower.”
Meek and City Manager Janette Bower said the department, including proposed permanent policy changes, is undergoing routine accreditation review, unrelated to Bower’s arrest. They said any permanent policy changes would not be made until after that review is complete.
Also outstanding is an open case against Samantha Bower, David’s wife. She’s also a former Soldotna Police Department employee and is also being represented by Pevehouse.
Four months after David’s arrest, Samantha was charged with two felony counts of witness tampering and second-degree theft related to her husband’s arrest. The state tried unsuccessfully to merge the two cases and name Samantha and David as co-defendants. As of Monday, there was an open motion to dismiss Samantha’s case.
In the meantime, Pevehouse said the case has been hard on Bower’s family.
“The hope is, when this is all over with, that maybe there could be some sort of healing and reunification for this family,” he said.
Jenna Gruenstein and the Office of Special Prosecutions did not respond to requests for comment.
