SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES
September 10, 2008

MURRIETA - The Association of Riverside County Chiefs of Police announced its support Wednesday of Sheriff Stan Sniff’s position that a law granting local law enforcement agencies jurisdiction over selected Indian tribes allows Riverside County deputies to enter the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians reservation at will.

Public Law 280, passed 55 years ago, turned over responsibility for law enforcement to local agencies. The law affects only selected tribes, including the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians.

But Sniff and Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado have vastly differing opinions on the interpretation of the law.
Sniff, backed by the county Board of Supervisors, maintains that the law allows his deputies to enter and roam the reservation at will. Salgado contends that deputies may enter without warning in emergency situations, but do not have the right to enter at will on routine assignments.

ARCCOP President Mark Wright, the Murrieta chief of police, sent a letter to the sheriff this week stating the organization’s support for his position.

“The public position that the tribal council has taken by allowing entry only with their permission, and only after restrictions and querying are imposed upon California peace officers acting in official capacity, is in direct violation of State Penal Code Section 148 and would not be tolerated in any of our jurisdictions within Riverside County or anywhere else in the state,” Wright wrote.

“In effect, the tribe is placing themselves above the law and is attempting to turn the California criminal justice system on its head, by creating a condition where official law enforcement business is subject to ‘pre-screening’ or otherwise compromise by non-law enforcement personnel,” Wright stated.

So far, deputies have not pushed the envelope toward enforcing violation of Penal Code Section 148, which is misdemeanor obstruction of justice.

Salgado, who had no comment to the letter, has stated that he is sending tribal members to achieve state certification to become peace officers, and possibly in the future will form his own police force.

Tribal police do not have the certification necessary to perform all law enforcement duties.

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Posted on September 10th, 2008 by hunwut
Filed under: Law and Order, Reservations, sovereignty