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Police investigate group's 'tribal' lawsCENTRAL POINT — Police are investigating a group claiming to be an Indian tribe for allegedly enforcing its own laws without proper authority. Central Point police Lt. Chuck Newell said detectives are finishing the investigation into the "Latgawa Native American Indian Tribe" and plan to turn the case over to the Jackson County District Attorney's Office within the week. The organization, which is not one of Oregon's nine federally recognized Indian tribes, claims to exercise police powers including prosecuting and jailing members. Police early Tuesday served a search warrant at president John Newkirk's home in the 700 block of Manzanita Street, seizing paperwork and the group's computer hard drives. "We found the group has applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for federal status but has not received it," Newell said. "Because it's an Indian group does not affect how we handle the case. We look at the criminal act and not the group responsible." Newkirk, 80, said he has never applied to the BIA and that the group has been harassed by the Central Point police. He claims that he has asked city officials to participate in a public forum to discuss the group's activities, but the city never responded. "We do not have to be federally recognized to do what we do," Newkirk said. "All we need is other tribes to recognize us. We communicate with them all the time." Newkirk hired a company called Positive ID Inc. (www.PositiveID.com) to print "driver's licenses" for the group's 300 members. The group also has four cars, including a dark-blue retired police Crown Victoria complete with holding cage, which have "Latgawa" license plates. "We only police our own," he added. "We don't even have printed tickets. Our people, when we catch them doing something illegal, are hauled into our court." Newkirk and perhaps others within the group could face felony charges of first-degree forgery, simulating legal process, impersonating a police officer and falsification of financial responsibility, Newell said. Newkirk is no stranger to controversy. Throughout the 90s he campaigned for the U.S. Senate and the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, losing each bid. He also battled the Bureau of Land Management for eight years over his eviction from a mining camp claim near Jacksonville. With this latest row, he is prepared to dig in for the long haul. "If Central Point wants to fight, they're not going to get off cheap," he said. "We're prepared to take this all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court." Reach reporter Chris Conrad at 776-4471, or e-mail cconrad@mailtribune.com. |
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