Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin on Tuesday announced that the Sheriff’s Office has received a law enforcement commission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Ute Mountain Ute tribe and will begin training this fall to make arrests and serve citations on the reservation.
Only the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe can grant special law enforcement commission to other law enforcement agencies.
The resolution granting the commission was approved Feb. 23, 2022, but the announcement about the Sheriff’s Office training came two years later.
The special law enforcement commission also was granted to sheriff’s offices in San Juan counties of Utah and New Mexico, according to a document provided by Nowlin to The Journal.
The decision to grant the commissions was attributed to a shortage of officers on Ute Mountain Ute land, especially in White Mesa, Utah, the resolution said.
A stipulation of the agreement calls on officers to be “culturally sensitive and have knowledge of the Ute people and their culture.”
The law enforcement agencies must go through training in cultural practices of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe. Nowlin said he requested that the resolution include the cultural training, but because it hasn’t begun, he decided to go ahead with the BIA training.
“So, I have made the decision after meeting with BIA to move forward because of the increased need,” Nowlin said. “The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office has been and will continue to assist the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Casino security and BIA whenever assistance is requested or needed to help protect the citizens and visitors in the community.”
Training for the Sheriff’s Office to obtain its special commission is expected this fall.
The resolution of the granted commission will remain in effect “until further action of the tribal council.”
