Tribal prosecutors have charged an Okmulgee County jailer accused of assaulting the Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police deputy chief during a dispute over jurisdiction inside the jail.
The Muscogee Nation has issued an arrest warrant for Matthew Douglas on complaints of protected status battery. Officials claim jailer Douglas told Deputy Chief Dennis Northcross on Monday they don’t accept suspects from Lighthorse Police when an officer tried to book a suspect. The Lighthorse officer allegedly told jailers it’s against state law for the jail to refuse to book a lawfully arrested person.
Body cam video shows jailers refusing to book the suspect. One jailer then shoves Northcross while another keeps a Lighthorse officer away from the conflict.
Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said jailers booked the suspect after all procedures were completed. County jails in Oklahoma regularly hold suspects prosecuted in federal and tribal courts.
Muscogee officials say they can arrest Douglas because of an addition to the Violence Against Women Act that allows Tribal governments to prosecute non-Native people who assault Native officials.
Rice said Thursday that none of his deputies have been arrested. He also said tribal law enforcement were kept out of the jail when they tried to serve the warrant on Tuesday after "several phone conversations made by legal experts" about the warrant.
"We understand that the Okmulgee County officials dislike federal laws that grant tribal law enforcement jurisdiction. But those political opinions do not give Okmulgee County the right to disregard and violate laws," the Muscogee Nation's news release states. "It certainly does not give them license to assault another police officer."
Gov. Kevin Stitt claimed the incident was “a direct effect of the broken system created by the McGirt Decision.” Stitt has consistently spoken against the 2020 Supreme Court decision that requires Native defendants be prosecuted in federal or tribal courts.
Stitt on Friday announced his plans to create a task force to address legal issues that have arisen following the McGirt decision. It will contain nine law enforcement appointees, two legislative appointees and two tribal appointees.
