Tribal cop faces misdemeanor
By Ralph Bartholdt
Published: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 3:48 PM PST
Charges may be filed against a Coeur d’Alene Tribe police officer who is accused of coercing four local hunters into buying a tribal hunting permit.
Four non-tribal hunters accuse the Coeur d’Alene Tribe police of harassing them into purchasing a tribal hunting license as they waited to hunt a parcel of privately-owned land on the reservation in the Benewah Valley.
Benewah County Prosecuting Attorney Doug Payne said a tribal police officer badgered the men into buying a license, and threatened to confiscate any deer or elk they harvested if they didn’t concede.
The men eventually each bought a $10 permit, according to a witness statement signed by the four hunters.
“He forced them into a contract under duress,” said Mr. Payne.
Tribal Police Officer Kaleb Madison could be charged with a misdemeanor, said Mr. Payne.
“It’s illegal to interfere with hunting and fishing in Idaho,” he said.
St. Maries resident William Nelson, 39, said he and three friends were parked in two pickups along the Cook Creek Road in the Benewah Valley one morning last week when a Tribal Police officer pulled up behind them.
The officer asked the men for their hunting licenses and their driver’s license, said Nelson.
He asked the men if they had tribal hunting permits, and said they could purchase permits from the officer.
They declined.
“We said, ‘No, thanks,’” said Mr. Nelson who filed the witness statement.
Mr. Nelson said the officer told the men that four tribal police are in the area and that they would confiscate any game the men shot.
“He strongly hinted that he would be waiting for us in case we did get an elk,” wrote Mr. Nelson.
Tribal Police Chief Keith Hutchinson wouldn’t comment on the matter, referring questions to the tribal spokesperson.
Marc Stewart head of tribal public relations said the tribe had no comment on the issue.
A call to the tribe’s attorney wasn’t returned.
Citing a 1981 U.S. Supreme Court decision Mr. Payne said Indian Tribes have no jurisdiction over non-tribal members who are hunting or fishing on non-tribal land on the reservation.
In State of Montana v. the United States, which addresses non-tribal hunting and fishing on the Crow Reservation, the Supreme Court ruled that non-tribal members who hunt on free lands aren’t subject to tribal jurisdiction.
“There is simply no suggestion in the legislative history that Congress intended that the non-Indians who would settle upon alienated allotted lands would be subject to tribal regulatory authority,” according to the decision.
No charges have been filed against the tribal officer, but Mr. Payne didn’t rule out filing a complaint.
“Here are four guys who were shaken down for $40,” he said. “They want action.”
