Get Sponsored
The Law & Justice Committee voted 3-2 to suspend Criminal Investigator Terry Boyd without pay until allegations against him are investigated.
The committee's recommendation must go to the full Tribal Executive Board on Monday, Feb. 23.
Based on a written complaint made against Boyd by George Ricker, and oral allegations made by Melissa M. Buckles at the Feb. 17 committee meeting, councilwoman Vermae Taylor made a motion to suspend Boyd, seconded by Pearl Hopkins. In support of the motion was Taylor Hopkins and Pat Crawford. Opposed were councilmembers Barbara Birdsbill and John Morales.
Committee chairman Robert Welch said he would oppose his committee's recommendation as TEB level until we get all the facts in. The only thing before us is a written complaint by Ricker, and the rest is "hearsay," he said.
Welch said the committee is setting a dangerous precedent is that anyone with an allegation against an employee can come and they will react without following proper procedures.
Ricker presented a written complaint to the committee against Boyd, and he wanted action on it. Boyd was the investigator in a rape charge against Ricker that went to federal court, where he was found not guilty after a jury trial. The rape charges against Ricker were re-filed in Tribal Court and Ricker blames Boyd for that. The tribal charges were eventually dropped by the victim and the case did not go to tribal court.
In an emotional statement to the committee, Ricker said that Boyd did him wrong and did his family wrong, "but it's payback time."
Ricker claimed that it's been going on 5 years that Boyd has harassed him. "This is sickening. Something's got to be done about him. Others might be scared of him, but I'm not."
"I didn't go through this for nothing. It happened for a reason," Ricker told the committee as his father, Sgt.-at-Arms George Ricker, his mother Helen and uncle Allen were looking on.
Boyd was not present at the committee meeting during the presentations by Ricker and Buckles.
Ricker said that Boyd is now going around threatening other people in his family and he's (Boyd) always in "that red jeep" because he's afraid to get out. "Act on my complaint today. I'm in this to the end."
Ricker filed a letter with the elected officials of the Tribes, which he termed as a "formal complaint of harassment," requesting disciplinary action against Boyd.
Ricker alleges that in 1992, he was released from his position as dispatcher at the jail, was informed by his supervisor Alfred Lizotte that Boyd and Howard Berner did not want him working there, and that he believes Boyd had an influence on the decision to dismiss him from his job.
In 1994 and 1995, Ricker alleges that Boyd had his daughter removed from his custody, and after an investigation, no charges were filed but it produced a long and unnecessary custody dispute for him in 1994, and caused his daughter to be placed outside his home for 4 days in 1995.
In 1996, Ricker said the federal charges against him following Boyd's investigation, subjected him and his family to "severe emotional stress" and financial hardship. He wrote he was a Poplar city police officer at the time and due to the allegations, he was "wrongly dismiss," and when the city police chief tried to correct this mistake by putting him back to work, Boyd interfered and advised against it.
And, Ricker wrote, in 1997 Boyd convinced former tribal prosecutor Ed Long Knife to charge him in tribal court with rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which were dismissed with prejudice by the chief judge on Feb. 2, 1998.
Ricker requested that Boyd be terminated immediately to prevent other tribal members from being subjected to this type of "gross misconduct," and if not, he and his family will become even more of a target for Boyd.
Adding to Ricker's complaint, Melissa M. Buckles told the committee that the cases Boyd is investigating and filing in federal court are "concocted" by Boyd and the U.S. Attorney, and are making Fort Peck look like the most "incestuous people and that we're killing each other, but we're not."
She also said allegations have been made that Boyd is a drug dealer, and should have been looked into and charges filed.
Calling herself the "staunchest" supporter of rights for the people, Welch asked Buckles why she didn't pursue these allegations?
She claimed that she has endured almost getting arrested and being charged with child neglect, but has filed numerous complaints with the BIA against Boyd and Robby War Cub, the supervisory CI, but somewhere, those complaints "were lost."
Buckles told the committee that a full scale investigation must be launched on the corruption in law enforcement, but that it couldn't be done by the FBI. Because their own agaents were santioned Boyd's investigations . She said the Tribes needed to ask Attorney General Janet Reno who could do it. "It's got to be straight from Washington., D.C."
Taylor said Ricker came in with his complaint, and with Buckles' statements added in, it just reinforced her feelings that a motion needed to be made.
Taylor also said that she would accept a grand jury coming in if they could solve one-tenth of the unsolved murders here.
"The drug dealers and pushers are alive and well and the ETB sits back because we'll lose votes if we don't. My son would be alive today if not for drugs," Taylor told the committee.
Councilman Morales said he couldn't support the motion against Boyd because it didn't include the suspension of War Club. "Do we stop at Terry Boyd? I wouldn't hesitate to include the Chief Judge AT Stafne and Robbie War Club," he told the committee.
Morales said his concern about War Club is the complaint that he was involved in a shooting while a person was handcuffed.
Birdstill said she couldn't support the motion because we have a director, who should be checking into these allegations. "We always react to what's brought to us."
The director of the Tribes' Public Safety, Abe Grey Bear, Sr., head of all the Tribe's law enforcement, including Boyd and War Club, told the committee that there's been a few complaints filed orally but when it's requested in writing, very few have come in.
War Club, who walked into the meeting at almost the end of the discussion surrounding himself and Boyd, said the allegation against him occurred 6 years ago, was investigated fully by the BIA, and has nothing to do with his current position with the Tribes. The paperwork can be checked out through the Billings Area Office director of low enforcement Mitch Fourier, he told Morales.
(The Wotanin Wawapi is the official tribal newspaper of the Fort Peck Reservation)
