Rex Conroy, the Oglala Lakota County Sheriff, sits in one of two retired patrol cars donated to his department by the Rapid City Council. Photo by Sean Ryan
Oglala Lakota County gets a hand-up from RCPD
By Brandon Ecoffey
Lakota Country Times Editor
www.lakotacountrytimes.com PINE RIDGE— Oglala Lakota County has always had a hard time collecting enough revenue to provide services to its residents. Recognizing this struggle, the Rapid City Police Department has donated two badly needed police vehicles to the Oglala Lakota County Sheriff. Unlike most counties in South Dakota, Oglala Lakota County does not have an abundance of tax revenue to spend on civil services. The county sits within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation making most state imposed taxes irrelevant. Jurisdiction on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is the responsibility of the tribe and federal authorities, both of whom impose their own tax system on citizens living there. As a result the county has to be innovative in how it secures resources for its programs. According to Oglala Lakota County commissioner Anna Diaz the county is attempting to collect taxes on fee lands but that task is proving to be both time consuming and difficult. Limited resources have stifled the ability of Oglala Lakota County to enforce state laws over non-tribal citizens on the reservation and large purchases for items such as vehicles and other law enforcement necessities is nearly impossible.
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After Oglala Lakota County Sheriff Rex Conroy reached out to the Rapid City Police Department and asked them to donate vehicles to the county, others in city government took up the task of navigating the bureaucratic process to make it happen. As a result of the letter and the work of several within the Rapid City Police Department and government, the Rapid City council voted unanimously last month to donate the vehicles along with the accompanying equipment to the county. The two 2009 Chevy Impalas were picked up by Sheriff Conroy and his deputy last week and are currently patrolling Oglala Lakota county. (Contact Brandon Ecoffey at editor@lakotacountrytimes.com) Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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