Cooperative agreement inked by area law enforcement

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, top law enforcement officials from across eastern North Dakota met at the Spirit Lake Casino & Resort to sign a Special Law Enforcement Commission Deputation Agreement.

The deputation agreement deputized state and local law enforcement officers from seven separate agencies, including the Eddy County Sheriff's Office, to assist the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) with law enforcement for the Spirit Lake Reservation, and vice versa.

Other law enforcement agencies that signed the agreement include the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, Benson County Sheriff's Office and the City of Devils Lake Police Department.

The Deputation Agreement for Eddy County reads, in part, "The purpose of this agreement is to provide for efficient, effective, and cooperative law enforcement efforts in Indian country in the State of North Dakota, and its terms should be interpreted in that spirit."

The agreement goes on to provide a more detailed list of the law enforcement duties deputized officers are able to carry out.

It states, "... both parties to this agreement shall cooperate with each other to provide comprehensive and thorough law enforcement protection, including but not limited to effecting arrests, responding to calls for assistance from all citizens and also from other law enforcement officers, performing investigations, providing technical and other assistance, dispatching, and detention."

When the agreement was still being discussed in December, Eddy County State's Attorney Ashley Lies told county commissioners that this agreement was much better than previous versions.

"It is completely different than other agreements we've seen in the past," said Lies. "I like it a lot better. They clearly spent a lot of time almost redrafting it. ... To me, I think it addresses all the concerns that Sheriff Lies and I were having."

According to Lies, previous versions of the agreement were too vague, particularly regarding who's responsible for determining whether or not an arrestee is an enrolled tribal member. Earlier proposed agreements would have had officers wait along the roadside, with potentially dangerous offenders, while the proper jurisdiction for their arrest was decided.

The newly signed agreement addresses the issue by ensuring that an official determination of proper jurisdiction is made by a prosecutor or court after any arrests.

The agreement also resolves a number of issues for law enforcement officers making arrests on tribal land, including the fear of being subjected to civil rights suits.

The agreement eliminates those uncertainties regarding lawsuits by making every deputized officer an employee of the Department of the Interior while they're enforcing laws on tribal land "for purposes of the Federal Tort Claims Act ..."

Eddy County Sheriff Paul Lies told the Transcript in December that the agreement represents a shift in thinking by Spirit Lake officials, who have previously wanted to prohibit non-Indian law enforcement agencies from working on tribal land entirely.

The shift, according to Sheriff Lies, stems from staffing shortages at the BIA, requiring increased law enforcement presence from other agencies.

The Spirit Lake Reservation has been attempting to develop a deputation agreement since 2019, and Gov. Doug Burgum has thrown his support behind developing such an agreement.

Unlike previous versions, this new agreement has seemingly addressed the concerns of both the BIA and other law enforcement agencies, finally allowing for cooperation and safer communities in the region.

"I think it's important that we have some type of agreement in place with the tribe so that we each know jurisdiction and what we can do," said Sheriff Lies. "And it also provides us relief from liability should one of the deputies take enforcement action on the reservation."