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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tight Budget Forces Tribe To Cut Police Force Muckleshoots Will Contract With Counties To Provide Law Enforcement

Associated Press

The Muckleshoot Indian tribe, anticipating revenue reductions of up to 20 percent from tribal businesses next year, is giving up its police department.

“We’re paying too much for what we’re getting,” Burney Huff, the tribe’s general manager, said Thursday.

The tribe will contract with either Auburn or King County police for law-enforcement services on the reservation.

Currently, the Muckleshoots spend about $1 million a year on a police force that has jurisdiction only over the 5,000 residents on the reservation. The 12-officer department can only make arrests for misdemeanor offenses.

“We need a police force that can respond to all types of situations and is fully empowered to arrest anyone who commits a crime on our reservation,” said a letter mailed Thursday to tribal members to explain the decision.

In the past two years, the tribe has spent $3.2 million on the department, but officers have yet to issue a traffic citation to anyone, Huff said.

The Muckleshoots have in the past been unable to work out agreements with local police agencies to cross-deputize tribal police officers so they can respond to additional calls involving non-Indians.

While the administration of the police department will change, its headquarters, name, uniforms and patrol cars will remain the same, tribal officials said.

The contracting police agency will also be encouraged to hire from the current police force.

Some tribal members, upset with the change, have signed a petition that will be presented to the Tribal Council.

The 107 protesters want to keep the department unchanged or, at the very least, vote on the change.

The department’s strong emphasis on educating tribal children about safety and domestic violence has become a positive influence in the community, said Teri Starr, who organized a rally on the reservation Thursday evening.

“They have gained our trust,” she said.

Tribal officials have met with King County Sheriff Dave Reichert, who said he was confident a contract can be worked out.

King County Police Capt. Denise Pentony said the tribe had asked the county to come up with a proposal that would cost about $500,000.

The new Muckleshoot force would serve both Indian and non-Indian residents and enforce tribal, local and state laws, Pentony said.

“This is a positive move,” Huff said. “It means we can provide better police service to all people within the boundaries of the reservation with less money. All people means Indians and non-Indians.”

One hitch any police contract will face is the fact that the reservation straddles the jurisdictions of both Auburn and King County police.

The tribe was to meet this week with Auburn police officials.

The following fields overflowed: DATELINE = MUCKLESHOOT INDIAN RESERVATION, WASH.