Artist Mateo Romero. Photo from Native Arts Collective

A well-known Cochiti Pueblo artist was briefly detained and had a rifle pointed at him in a bizarre mix-up in New Mexico.

Mateo Romero pulled into the driveway of a home in Santa Fe to clean up a mess involving his dog inside his car. The owner of the home pulled up shortly thereafter and, fearing a repeat burglary, called police.

“I tried to talk to her to explain that I was cleaning up," Romero told the Associated Press. “But she got all hysterical and I just backed away. I couldn’t leave. It was crazy.”

An officer arrived and pulled a rifle, Romero said. But he was let go after being briefly handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car.

In 2012, Romero was involved in an incident in which is firearm discharged at a gas station in Santa Fe. He did not face charges in what his attorney said was a case of self-defense.

Romero was one of the original plaintiffs is Harjo v. Pro Football Inc., the case that led to the first cancellation of the Washington NFL team's trademarks. A new generation of Native activists has taken up the cause.

Get the Story:
Artist: Santa Fe police pulled rifle for dog poop (AP 7/9)
Dog poop leads to a mess (The Albuquerque Journal 7/10)
Dog poop cleanup turns dicey as artist is mistaken for burglar (The Santa Fe New Mexican 7/10)

Related Stories:
Artist from Cochiti Pueblo cites self-defense in shooting incident (06/01)
Pueblo artist not charged in connection with shooting incident (5/30)