Bannock County SWAT team vehicle. Photo from Pro Libertate

A leader of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho referred to sheriff's deputies as "Indian killers" and threatened to confiscate their SWAT vehicle, The Idaho State Journal reported.

Officers from Bannock County and other jurisdictions were called to the reservation on Saturday after an armed man got into a confrontation with tribal police. Ray Broncho eventually surrendered after 18 hours and no one was hurt.

But tensions flared when the unidentified council member became upset by the presence of Bannock County deputies and, at one point, told them to leave the reservation. Sheriff Lorin Nielsen hopes to meet with Chairman Nathan Small to discuss the incident.

“There was definitely hate there toward law enforcement and non-tribal members,” Nielsen told The Idaho State Journal. “At what point is the hate going to stop and the trust going to start?”

Last year, a Bannock County deputy shot tribal member Kevin Toane after a high-speed chase.

Get the Story:
Bannock sheriff upset by how tribal leadership treated SWAT team at Fort Hall standoff (The Idaho State Journal 9/24)
Sheriff wants meeting with tribal boss after tiff (AP 9/24)
Standoff at Fort Hall over: Ray Broncho has surrendered to SWAT officers outside his home (The Idaho State Journal 9/21)