From left: Oglala Sioux Tribe President John Yellow Bird Steele, chief of police Mark Mesteth and Attorney General Tatewin Means discuss the rise of violent drug related crimes on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Photo courtesy Franklin Poor Bear
Tribal Officials Step Up To Protect Oyate
By Tom Crash
Lakota Country Times Correspondent
lakotacountrytimes.com PINE RIDGE – Vinnie Brewer was shot and killed right outside of the SuAnn Center east of Pine Ridge Sunday, the site of a memorial basketball tournament. Annie Colhoff was murdered a month ago in Pine Ridge and Todd Little Bull was slain earlier this summer in Kyle. On Tuesday, October 18, a press conference at the Criminal Justice Center south of Pine Ridge featured John Yellow Bird Steele, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe; Mark Mesteth, the chef of police of the tribe's Department of Public Safety; and Tatewin Means, the tribe's attorney general, stressing that the communities were still safe across the reservation but there were changes coming. “In response to recent events and increasing concerns from the community, we are opening up an anonymous 24 hour tip line, borrowing 10 BIA officers for the next 60 days, using Ramah money to add 20 public safety positions,” said Steele. “And we’re prioritizing what emergency calls we will answer with priorities going to violent crimes and drug related crimes.” Following the Brewer shooting on Sunday in the middle of the day, schools have expressed concern about student safety. The Pine Ridge-Red Cloud volleyball game was postponed and the Little Wound-Pine Ridge football game scheduled for Thursday night in Pine Ridge has been moved to Thursday afternoon in Kyle. “Yes, we’re short of officers but when the call came out from Pine Ridge on Sunday, we had both on and off duty officers respond,” said Mesteth. “We have funding for 44 officers, currently we have 27 patrol officers and four in administration leaving 13 openings. We have 20 applications on hand and it can take several months to do background checks and training. We’re looking at hiring 20 new officers in investigations, school resource officers and drug task force officers." "As a parent, I’m concerned, it gets dark earlier each day, I’ll have my kids inside after dark," Mesteth added. "Do we know where our kids are? We need to keep each other safe.” Concerns from the crowd included a lack of information about the most recent violent crimes, possible border controls, lack of a tribal website and no tribal social media presence. Some wondered about the lack of federal officers on the reservation and about the efforts of the tribe's federal partners: the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “There are times that my office is just as in the dark as community members -- the feds do not share information,” said Means, “We are not going to wait for the feds any longer. We’re going to carry out our own investigations, we’re asking officers to be more vigilant and reports and data will be filed here with the AG’s office for local prosecution not just sent directly to the feds,.” The press conference did not provide any information about the killing of Todd Little Bull; not one bit of insight about the slaying of Annie Colhoff or the brutal murder of Vinnie Brewer on Sunday, October 16 -- all cases being investigated by federal authorities.
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“We need help, we need to hear from the community. We will have a 24 hour tip line up this week, if you see something, call it, the line will be anonymous,” stress all three officials. "Our officers are going to be more proactive, investigating, gathering evidence toward local prosecutions.” The 10 BIA officers arrived Tuesday, Occtober 18, making their presence felt immediately with regular traffic stops in the highest traffic areas. Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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Country Times: Shooting pushes Pine Ridge into action (10/25) Lakota Country Times: Oglala citizen calls for prayer amid violence (08/18)
