The Rosebud Sioux Tribe is forming a new seven-member police commission to develop policies and procedures for law enforcement on the reservation.

Had the commission been in place earlier, it might have averted the problems with tribal police who were carrying tribal law enforcement commission cards that had expired, according to Eric Antoine, in-house attorney for the tribe.

The expired commission cards resulted in nearly 300 criminal cases being dismissed in Rosebud tribal court after defense attorneys argued that the officers conducting the investigations and arrests did not carry valid tribal police commissions or had allowed their tribal commissions expire.

Similar arguments have been made in three federal criminal cases originating on Rosebud. A judge has not yet ruled in those cases.

Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney Bordeaux announced this week that the tribal council had taken action to seat a new tribal Police Commission to handle law enforcement administration.

Antoine said the tribe formerly had a police commission, which apparently became defunct because it was unable to find qualified members.

He said a functioning police commission might have prevented the problem with expired tribal law enforcement commissions. Antoine said the tribal judiciary committee, which was providing oversight of police matters, had not met regularly during the tribal council's previous term. After the judiciary committee began meeting regularly again, it discovered the problem in January, he said.

The new tribal police commission ordinance requires the commission to meet regularly and requires members to attend a certain number of meetings or face replacement, Antoine said.

The tribe took applications now for the new commission, which will be composed of six at-large members from various communities on the reservation, plus one tribal council representative, Antoine said. Applications closed Friday.

Among the new police commission's duties are to:

- Make recommendations to the tribal council and president concerning law enforcement.

- Review and evaluate the performance of the police chief and captain.

- Review, evaluate and take action on charges of misconduct on the part of law enforcement personnel.

- Evaluate promotion requests by law enforcement personnel; and apply for contracts and grants.

Antoine said qualified applicants for the police commission must be tribal members who are at least 18 years old, have never been convicted of a felony and can pass both a background check and a drug test. The tribe also hopes to get applicants with some knowledge of law enforcement, he said.

The tribal council could select the police commission members as early as the next tribal council meeting on Wednesday, Antoine said.

Currently, all tribal police officers have valid tribal police commission cards. Some also have Bureau of Indian Affairs special law enforcement commissions, Bordeaux said in a news release.

"I know that some of the officers who don't have BIA commissions are being encouraged to try for that," Antoine said.

Bordeaux also said that when the problem with police commissions was discovered in January, officers whose commissions had expired or been found invalid were assigned administrative duties until their commissions were renewed. But other police officers who had valid commissions continued patrol and other law enforcement duties, Bordeaux said.

The tribe was never without law enforcement, Bordeaux said.

The tribe has a chief of police, 20 police officers and four special agents, according to Bordeaux. Of the 20 officers, four are school resources officers, two each stationed at Todd County High School and St. Francis High School. Two officers are highway safety officers.

Bordeaux and Antoine also said the nearly 300 cases dismissed in tribal court are a small fraction of the total cases handled.

During the past fiscal year, 3,223 criminal cases were prosecuted in tribal court, according to Bordeaux's news release. That number does not include 662 juvenile cases.

Antoine said that at the current pace, the tribal court could handle 5,000 criminal cases by the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30.

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com