Joint effort gives officers an edge

BOISE – When Coeur d’Alene tribal police arrive at crime scenes, they no longer must sort out whether a suspect is a tribal member before launching into an investigation.

For the past two years, following years of frustration and legal hiccups, tribal law officers have been cross-deputized with sheriff’s departments from both Kootenai and Benewah counties. The deal gives officers from each agency power to arrest tribal and nontribal suspects alike, an arrangement necessitated by diminishing county resources and an escalating meth problem.

Panhandle law enforcement officials say cross-deputization helps keep police and civilians safe by cutting response times and putting more officers on the street. The agreement might also serve as a model for other Idaho tribes.

“When the public calls, they want somebody in a uniform to show up and handle the problem,” said tribal Police Chief Keith Hutcheson. “And they don’t care who it is.”

In recent months, the arrangement has allowed tribal police to quickly respond to incidents.

Last month, tribal officers responded to a report of a 4-year-old girl missing from the reservation town of Plummer, arriving more quickly than Benewah officers could, Hutcheson said. Tribal police filed the initial report, which involved a nontribal suspect, and they helped with the ensuing Amber Alert. The girl was later found safe in Montana.

In early December, tribal police worked with the Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies and county prosecutors to seize about $35,000 and a car used for drug running near the Coeur d’Alene Casino. The civil seizure from a nontribal member was a first for the tribe, and the incident prompted Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas to deputize Tribal Prosecutor Pat Kiernan.

Cooperation between agencies also has helped combat crime at the tribe’s casino. Kootenai County prosecutors deal with about $2,000 to $3,000 a month in restitution for bad checks, primarily from the casino, Douglas said.The benefit is simply having “more manpower,” said Rocky Watson, Kootenai County sheriff.

“We’ve been quite happy with it,” he said.

Douglas likes the cooperative effort for the same reason as the region’s top cops: “It promotes efficiency. It adds to my staff.”

The working relationship between tribes and sheriffs hasn’t always been smooth.

During the late 1990s, both parties were legally handcuffed. Idaho doesn’t recognize tribal police departments because tribes are sovereign nations, preventing agencies from working across reservation lines. But sheriffs can elect to deputize tribal police.

While agencies on both sides sought cross-deputization, county officials stymied the process because of concerns about lawsuits that might arise from actions by deputized tribal officers. Both sides also worried about agencies violating traditional sovereignty rights.

Two years ago, however, tribal police and the sheriffs signed a legal agreement making each agency responsible for its own officers’ actions in case of a lawsuit, Hutcheson said.The agencies are careful to avoid stepping on each other’s toes, assisting only upon request, Watson said. Tribal members don’t arbitrarily patrol highways, for example.

“If we have a report of a drunk driver going north on (Highway) 95 and they’re the closest one, we can ask them to take it,” Watson said. “Tribal members are as concerned as non-tribal members” about excessive authority.

The pact makes it easier to go after meth houses found on the sprawling reservation but involving non-tribal members, tribal Chairman Chief Allan said at a recent Idaho Council on Indian Affairs meeting in Boise.

“Meth labs have no boundaries,” Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger told the legislators and tribal officials – from five sovereign nations – who attended the meeting. “They certainly don’t recognize tribal boundaries or state boundaries or county lines, and we need to work hand-in-hand to combat that problem. And we’re doing that quite effectively working as co-workers.”

Prior to deputization, non-native criminals would elude other law enforcement agencies by entering tribal land.

“They can’t hide on the reservation like they used to,” Hutcheson said.

Tribal police issued 121 citations for speeding, drunken driving, assault and other violations during January and February, more than half of which went to non-natives whom tribal cops could not have cited before cross-deputization.

The tribal department employs 13 full-time officers, and Hutcheson said he wants to hire three more. His officers have all graduated from the Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy, even though – unlike city and county officers – that’s not legally required.

Watson said working closely with the tribe benefits his understaffed agency. Kootenai County has about 44 patrol deputies.

Benewah employs only seven deputies on the road, said Sheriff Robert Kirts.

A tribal response can save 20 minutes in travel time in some areas, said tribal Police Chief Hutcheson.

“It just takes time,” he said. “We’re down that way, we’re in that area.”

Other tribes have also considered more interagency cooperation, including the Nez Perce, whose reservation covers portions of three counties. No agreement has been reached, said Darren Williams, an attorney for the tribe.

“It’s a highly political issue, so it’s unfortunately not something that happens quickly or just overnight,” Williams said. “You always do have jurisdictional issues that arise that need to be addressed.”

Williams added that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s deputization pact might be a model.

“I think they’re a good example of a positive working relationship and how the entities help each other,” he said.

Deputization might not work for every tribe, but it has been successful for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Allan said.

“It works, because I got a ticket from Kootenai County,” he said with a laugh.