Bill authorizes tribal police to enforce state laws in Oklahoma

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) is expected to sign HB 1871, a tribal law enforcement bill, into law.

The bill allows tribal police officers to enforce state laws on trust lands. The tribal officers must be commissioned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training in order to exercise the new authority.

"They can go work the accident, investigate the crime or whatever needs to take place," Wyandotte Nation Chief Billy Friend told KODE-TV.

The tribe's chief of police helped write the bill.

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Tribal Jurisdiction Bill (KODE-TV 5/8)

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