A current Bethel city council member was arrested and charged with assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct last week on Sunday, November 17th, 2024. Twenty-seven year old WG Anaruk pleaded not guilty to the charges according to the arraignment hearing summary.
According to charging documents, a Bethel police officer responded to a residence for the report that Anaruk was throwing things, yelling, and being belligerent and was in an “intoxicated state”.
The officer responding said that after he entered the home and was directed to the back bedroom by one of the occupants. He could hear Anaruk shouting and causing a disturbance. Anaruk exited the bedroom and advanced quickly on the officer with his hands raised in a pre-assault indicator and a challenge to fight.
The officer said that he pushed back Anaruk to create distance and told him that was unacceptable.
A resident in the home said that they feared that Anaruk would be aggressive with them. They were visibly shaking and stated that they were was scared. They reported that Anaruk was in the residence throwing objects around and causing a disturbance. They also stated that he was slamming things on the toilet and hitting the door.
Anaruk said that he was angry but stated that he did not know what he was angry about.
Anaruk was arrested and was transported to the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center. He told the arresting officer that he was a Bethel City Council member and that he was going to use his position to have the police officer fired. During transport he slipped his handcuffs from the back to the front of his body. Officers were moving the handcuffs from the front to the back and Anaruk became belligerent and spat in the police officer’s face.
Once the handcuffing was completed, Anaruk was escorted into YKCC where he was remanded. His next court appearance is December 16th, 2024.
