Irie1:

ColeyG provided the link to the Oliphant case in an earlier post. Please read it as it is the definitive decision in this. Each tribe hires its own LE personnel who are answerable to their tribal employer which, in turn, is responsible for its officers' actions (BUT FOR the issue of tribal immunity). Again, in order for tribal officers to become cross-commissioned the individual tribe must waive that immunity and post a bond to ensure that if one of their officers goofs up that the aggrieved citizen has a civil remedy available to him/her.

This was more than unlawful detainment according to all of the reports and the pictures available from the press. The citizens were apparently approached at gunpoint while dressing/loading the elk. They were subsequently handcuffed and held for two hours. I make that trespassing, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, and interfering with a lawful hunt (Mike Cenci???). Keep in mind the tribal LE did not have jurisdiction. Suggest that you look at the tribal guys as plain old citizens and think what would have happened to you if you had taken these same actions.

Krijack: No excuses for these guys. They fully know the bounds of their jurisdiction (or certainly are expected to know it) and they were some 10 miles from the res. Given the small population of that tribe my guess is that they know all of its members. Also note that the elk was already down and was being loaded into the truck so no excuse that they, as a citizen, were stopping an illegal/dangerous event.

Nope, these guys are in the (elk) soup.