Ogalala Sioux Tribal Council, S.D., Revamps Public Safety Agency Story-Date: 01:18 p.m. PST Sunday , October 12, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------ Ogalala Sioux Tribal Council, S.D., Revamps Public Safety Agency By K. Marie Porterfield, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News PINE RIDGE, S.D.--Oct. 13--In a sweeping move Sept. 30, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council restructured its police department, doing away with the OST Public Safety Commission. The new Oglala Sioux Department of Public Safety was approved after a two-day special session of the OST Council. It was made official in time to start the new fiscal year October 1. Everett Little White Man, who chaired the committee that authored the restructuring plan, is the director of the revamped law enforcement agency. Wendell Yellow Bull has taken over chief of police duties. Both men were appointed by the tribal council for a 90-day transition period. "Everything will fall into place, but it will take time," Mr. Little White Man said of the reorganization. "We will definitely improve our services to the people." "We will retain the review boards for civilian and community input and for decentralization," said OST President John Steele, who said the reorganization was "mandated by the people." Although district review boards will remain part of the system, the new charter strips their ability to hire and fire public safety employees, making nepotism more difficult. It will be up to the districts to reinstate review board members or choose new ones, said Mr. Steele, who said that in the past some district residents had been angered by the special treatment families of some review board members received. A new commission, made up of one representative from each district review board, will serve in an advisory capacity to law enforcement administrators. As the result of an inspection requested by Tribal President John Steele, the BIA Division of Law Enforcement reported a year ago that the organizational model of the commission, nine district review boards and police administrators was confusing to the point of being unworkable. The Public Safety Commission was established in 1977 after civil unrest and abuses of police power earlier in the decade It was designed to localize police authority in the districts, separating it from direct control of the tribal council, which contracts law enforcement services with 638 funds. "It is not uncommon for the review boards to continuously hire family members as law enforcement personnel," the BIA report criticized. "Many police officers feel they can be fired at any time for political considerations." One of the main criticisms leveled against the old commission by the BIA was that politicians, not people trained in law enforcement, made managerial decisions, including the hiring and firing of police officers. Lack of supervision, a high employee turnover rate and untrained and inexperienced staff, led not only to poor morale, but community dissatisfaction. In early August, a group of concerned tribal members protested against the OST Public Safety Commission, alleging that Pine Ridge police officers used unnecessary force and that the commission had either lost or ignored complaints from the community. The commission was also accused of misappropriation of funds. Mr. Steele said that the old system had many good officers and good people on the review board. "A few people ruined it for everybody," he said. Mr. Little White Man said he had high conduct expectations for the officers working for him. "I don't believe in people working on the police force for eight hours and spending the next eight hours getting drunk and abusing people," he said. "This restructuring was done by Lakota people," Mr. Little White Man said. "We all want a good community, we want a clean community and we want to be safe in our community." Mr. Steele said the public safety change may be the first of several. "I want everybody to be treated the same on this reservation," he said. "We are looking at other organizations to see if people are receiving special treatment." Tribal insiders speculate that the court system will be the next target of reform. ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------