Oklahoma Tribal Task Force Publishes Final Report

Oklahoma’s Tribal Task Force published its final report with recommendations on how the state and tribes can improve how they work together to enforce the law.

Tuesday’s report came as a result of that December incident.

A Lighthorse police officer took a non-tribal citizen to the Okmulgee County jail.

The jailer refused to accept the person, saying the tribal officer didn’t have jurisdiction to make the arrest.

This led to a scuffle that was caught on camera.

Gov. Kevin Stitt then formed a task force and asked members to develop what he called long-term solutions.

The governor says US Supreme Court rulings on tribal sovereignty leave too many questions up in the air.

The task force met five times between January and May.

It says cross-deputization agreements-which allow county or municipal law enforcement to make tribal arrests and vice versa-haven’t changed since 2005.

The task force says the state and tribes should look at adding new parts to the agreements, like sharing jails, revenue, and criminal history of people arrested.

The tribes were offered a chance to sit on the task force but refused.

Task force members say they talked with tribal representatives throughout the process.

It’s now up to the state and tribes to decide whether to act on any of the recommendations.