Officers from the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety participate in a powwow on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Photo from Facebook
The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is down to 24 police officers, KOTA TV reports. The tribe's Department of Public Safety needs at least 44 officers to patrol the 2.2-million acre Pine Ridge Reservation, according to the station. But retention and recruitment problems mean officers must patrol vast areas with little backup. “For the whole west side of the reservation from Porcupine all the way to the Prairie Winds Casino, from Pine Ridge up to Red Shirt Table we covered with three officers and myself,” officer Tony Long Soldier told KOTA. “And you know we were just bombarded with calls.” The department often relies on the community to help maintain law and order. Tribal members helped search for three young men who went missing on the reservation last month and they are also assisting officers in looking for Alex "Tank" Gay-Vasquez, who hasn't been seen since last October. Get the Story:
Pine Ridge grapples with dearth of police officers (KOTA TV 6/13)
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