Tribe: ‘Our intent is to encourage cooperation’

Coeur d’Alene Tribe legislative director Helo Hancock told the House Judiciary Committee, “Our intent here is to encourage cooperation among the county and the tribe, and if cooperation cannot be reached, there’s still recourse … for the residents and the tribe to have the law enforcement that they deserve.” Now, lobbyist Bill Roden is walking the committee through the details of the tribe’s bill, HB 500.

The legislation encourages Idaho tribes and county sheriffs to negotiate and reach cooperative agreements for law enforcement within reservations; if an agreement isn’t reached after six months of negotiations, tribal police officers could begin enforcing state laws on the reservation if they meet certain requirements, including being state-certified, sending all cases to state courts, and that the tribe carry liability insurance and waive its sovereign immunity so it can be sued in cases of officer wrongdoing.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe had cross-deputization agreements with both Kootenai and Benewah counties, but the Benewah County sheriff revoked that county’s agreement in 2007. Now, the tribe contends criminals are going free because its officers on the Benewah County portion of its reservation are stopping drunken drivers and being called to crime scenes, but can’t make arrests of non-tribal members, and sheriff’s officers aren’t showing up to make the arrests for them. Benewah County Sheriff Bob Kirts disputes that. The issue has prompted many to pick sides in North Idaho - all North Idaho county commissioners have signed a letter opposing the bill, while an array of North Idaho mayors have sent a letter backing it; the measure also is championed by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.