In the remote village of Togiak, Alaska, on July 11, 2019, a tragic event unfolded in which a 61-year-old Native American man named Samuel Brito was found fatally wounded. The man, male and of Indigenous heritage, lay motionless in a residential area after apparent gunshot wounds. His life was extinguished in the quiet solitude of his home, his death unnoticed until a Togiak-based Alaska State Trooper, Daniel Sadloske, responded to the sound of distant shots echoing across the village.
Sadloske discovered Samuel Brito's lifeless body, and the grim scene marked the beginning of a dark chapter for the community. The date of death is recorded as July 12, 2019.
Nearby, the trooper encountered a 34-year-old male, Richard Sears, wielding a firearm and standing in the aftermath of the shooting. As troopers ordered him to drop the weapon, Sears refused, escalating the tension. In response, Trooper Sadloske discharged his weapon, wounding Sears. The confrontation ended with the suspect injured and the trooper unhurt. Sears was swiftly given first aid by the very officer who had shot him, and then airlifted out of the village for emergency medical treatment.
After Sears had been stabilized following his injury, law enforcement moved quickly to bring him under formal custody. Once well enough, he was remanded into Anchorage's jail on charges of first-degree murder. The community, still stunned by the death of the 61-year-old male Indigenous man, awaited clarity and justice as authorities pursued the legal process.
Weeks later, investigations had advanced. Trooper Sadloske, an Alaska State Trooper with nearly two decades of experience at that point, had been placed on administrative leave—a standard procedure in officer-involved shootings—while the Alaska Bureau of Investigations conducted a thorough review of the incident.
Thus unfolded the sorrowful story of Samuel Brito, a 61-year-old Indigenous male, whose life was ended in a sudden flash of violence, and the ensuing confrontation that left another injured and under arrest.
