Column: Law and disorder on Soboba Reservation

Opinion

Thursday, May 15, 2008

"If I were a betting man, I wouldn't go near the Soboba Casino.

Not until the RivCo sheriff and the Indian reservation declare a cease-fire. Welcome to RivCo's mini Sadr City.

I don't pretend to fully understand what's happening out there, why or who's to blame. But everyone knows this: There have been copious exchanges of gunfire. Three tribe members have been killed in a week.

And the RivCo sheriff and the Soboba tribal chairman are lobbing rounds o' rhetoric that aren't exactly climate coolers.

These guys are, supposedly, leaders. They represent people who are using real bullets. Real people are dead. You'd think Sheriff Stan Sniff and Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado might have a few pressing matters to discuss.

But that'll have to wait. The sheriff was in Washington, D.C., when a P-E reporter caught up to him. Sniffed Sniff:

"The tribal leadership needs to take control and make it known that this type of violence against their own members and members of law enforcement will not be tolerated."

That's your boilerplate law 'n' order lingo, which would be fine, except it glosses over what appears to be the larger context of this dispute: Bad blood. Soboba Indians -- at least some -- don't trust the sheriff. The Sheriff's Department -- at least some -- doesn't trust the Soboba Indians."

Get the Story:
Dan Bernstein: All Bets Are Off (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 5/15)
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