Lakota mother seeks justice for son shot to death by tribal officer

Tuesday, January 29, 2019  

A 28-year-old citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe was shot to death by a police officer and his mother is seeking justice.

Jamie Lee Brave Heart was killed at the Indian Health Service hospital on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. His mother blames a tribal officer for causing the June 3, 2016, incident.

"At the time of his death, Jamie Brave Heart was 28 years old and had a life expectancy of at least 45 years," the July 30, 2018, complaint filed by Anita Brave Heart reads. "He suffered pain and suffering prior to his death. His estate has been deprived of his instruction, moral training, superintendence, counsel, guidance, aid, loss of advice, assistance, companionship, society, and protection."

The federal government responded on January 10. U.S. Attorney Ronald A. Parsons, Jr. blamed Brave Heart for causing his own death.

"The negligence and/or actions of the decedent and/or third parties was the proximate cause of the accident, the death of decedent, and any and all alleged injuries or damages sustained by the plaintiff," the answer reads.

The case has been assigned to Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken. He put the case on hold on January 14 in response to the shutdown of the federal government.

Proceedings are expected to resume now that federal funding has been restored as of Friday, albeit on a temporary basis. Viken ordered the government to "notify the court as soon as the Department of Justice attorneys are permitted to resume their regular civil litigation functions."

Prior to the resolution of the shutdown, Parson's office had said Department of Justice attorneys aren't allowed to work "even on a voluntary basis, 'except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.'" The Brave Heart case does not appear to qualify for that exception.

"The government was shut down, and the Department does not know when funding will be restored by Congress," Parson wrote on December 27, five days into the shutdown.

A day after the filing, Brave Heart's wife shared a tribute to her late husband. "I miss you," she wrote on social media, along with a photo of his grave site in Kyle, on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

In addition to his wife, Brave Heart left behind three daughters.