A New And Improved Moapa Tribal Police Force

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

If you regularly drive the highways and byways around Moapa Valley, you have probably noticed an increased presence of the Moapa Tribal Police officers in the area over the last couple of years. The Tribal Police has gone through a dramatic change in that time. Once known for being a rather backwater police force; criticized for being understaffed, underqualified and underfunded; the Tribal Police now no longer resembles that same old institution.

Instead, the Moapa Band has hired a new chief who has gone out and recruited an admirable force of experienced officers. In addition to increasing the size of the force, the Tribal Police Department has new vehicles, new equipment and even new uniforms. And they have worked to build a new image with the community where they serve.

All of the dramatic changes began when the Paiute Tribal Council hired Police Chief Kevin Moore about two and a half years ago. Moore is a resident of Logandale who, at that time, was stationed with the Nevada Highway Patrol at their Moapa station.

In 2010, Moore was set to retire from the NHP and was looking for what he was going to do next. It was just at that point that the Moapa Band was searching for a new police chief.

Moapa Justice Court Judge Ruth Kolhoss knew of the opening and she also knew that Moore was up for retirement. Moore said that Kolhoss contacted him encouraging him to apply for the position.

“At first, given the history of the department, I was a little reluctant,” Moore said in an interview with the Progress. “But I ended up putting in my application. I believed that I could make a good change in the department and bring an additional professional atmosphere to the tribal police force.”

He was offered the job immediately after his retirement.

“I retired from the NHP, then had the weekend off and started right back up again with the Tribal Police,” Moore said.

Moore explained that, in taking the job, he immediately faced some significant challenges. He said that the Tribal Police really didn’t have a very good image in the community. This was mainly due to past history, he said.

Before there was ever a tribal police force, law enforcement on the reservation was handled directly under the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Moore explained that, back then, the BIA assigned agents to the area. But they were seldom in the area on a regular basis, he said.

“There were long periods of time when there was really no law enforcement at all,” Moore said.

In the 1970s the Paiutes finally decided to organize their own permanent police department. It was organized under contract with the BIA using BIA funding. The contract set forth basic requirements needed for the department in order to keep it funded, Moore explained. Those requirements are still in effect. But the requirements were very general and loose; and didn’t give much detail, Moore said.

What’s more the Tribal Police Department had been minimally funded throughout much of its history, Moore said. This had led, in the past, to the hiring of police personnel who had not received the appropriate training or credentials, Moore said. And there were never enough officers. With the funding made available, the tribe couldn’t afford it any other way, Moore said.

“As I came on board I found that the BIA was severely underfunding the Department,” Moore said. “I don’t think that it was really an intentional thing. It is a small band and it just wasn’t on the radar. There had been no real BIA presence here. The nearest BIA office is at Kaibab north of St. George. So they didn’t really know that there was even a problem. I saw an opportunity to change the funding and financing structure of the department.”

Moore went to the BIA and got them to triple the funding to the Tribal Police force. With that he has been able to make significant changes. In the process he has sought to make the Tribal Police more of a community-minded organization.

“There had always been a, kind of, rivalry between the Police and the reservation community,” Moore said.

Moore explained that this was mainly a trust issue. The police force had often been seen as outsiders being brought into the community to keep the peace. So there wasn’t a high approval of the Department in the community, Moore said.

“It has taken some time to prove myself to the Tribal Council,” Moore said. “We have been working hard to have a community-oriented program to develop trust in the community. And, of course, that trust problem isn’t just a new thing. It goes back into history for hundreds of years. You not going to be able to solve it overnight. So it has been a challenge.”

Moore says that he and his officers have made it a point to be involved in the reservation community. They have sponsored community events like the National Night Out in August where they hosted an evening of community activities. They have also established several anti-drug community initiatives. On Sunday, the Department will even sponsor a community Super Bowl Party in the tribal center.

“We have spent a lot of time getting to know the 285 some-odd members of the Paiute community here,” Moore said. “We have tried to get to know everyone on a first name basis.”

Moore has been able to drastically increase the Department staffing. When he got there two years ago, he said there was one sergeant, two full time officers and a part time officer on staff. Now there are 10 officers on staff and six dispatchers who work in the office.

But most of the efforts of the Department are focused, not on policing the 285 Paiute community members, but rather on patrolling the I-15 and the Paiute Travel Plaza, Moore said.

The Tribal Police Department only has jurisdiction over the 75,000 acres of the Moapa Indian Reservation. That includes the 10 miles of I-15 that runs through Tribal lands. On that stretch of highway, they share jurisdiction with NHP and Metro. And so the Tribal Police has become very busy making traffic stops in that area.

“Our guys are instructed to use officer discretion in pulling people over for speeding,” Moore said. “We want to be a good neighbor to the locals and we aren’t there to put the hammer down on Moapa Valley folks commuting back and forth.”

Because the Moapa Band is considered to be its own sovereign government, it has its own Justice Court. So the Tribal Police can offer an alternative to those whom they pull over for speeding. They can issue a civil citation under the Tribal Court. This means that the incident isn’t recorded with the DMV nor does it count against their record for insurance, Moore said.

“It is just a one time fine and it is done and over,” Moore said. “Most people are happy about that and take that option.”

Of course, the Tribal Police can issue a citation under the County Courts, too. But when they do, the fees recovered from the citations goes to the County Court, that funding doesn’t come back to the Tribe as it does in the civil citations. So the Tribal Court civil citation seems to work best for all concerned.

But Moore is quick to say that the civil citation option is only extended for minor speeding violations. If his officers come across DUI cases, illegal drugs, stolen property or other serious situations; it always goes to the County Courts.

And the Tribal Police has handled more than its share of those larger cases. In fact the Department has made a name for itself in the field of drug interdiction on the Interstate.

“We have some very good officers that came on with a desire to do that kind of work,” Moore said. “It can be a frustrating process. You can go weeks or months without anything at all. It can be discouraging because a lot of times you know full well that there is something going on with some vehicle that you have pulled over, but you just can’t find it. You have to let them go on down the road.”

But as they have cast a broad net over their small segment of the Interstate, the Tribal Police officers have made some pretty major catches. In 2012 alone, Moore reports that Tribal Police officers seized about 27 lbs. of marijana, 5 lbs of cocaine and over 24 lbs of methamphetamine.

And it isn’t only drugs that they have uncovered. The Tribal officers have recovered thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise that is travelling south toward the border. Moore recalled one instance where a person had apparently stolen racks of clothing from a Macy’s department store in Salt Lake City. They were transporting thousands of dollars of clothing with the tags still on.

“When you see something like that, you know that there is something wrong there,” Moore said.

Last summer, Tribal Police officers made a traffic stop on the I-15 that still holds the state record for the amount of cash seized. The stop, which occurred last August, yielded $1.8 million in cash; all travelling in a single vehicle.

“It was a huge amount of money,” Moore said. “It took up two full size tables at about 18 inches deep, just stacked with cash. And no one ever came to claim the money. So you know that it wasn’t legitimate.”

Moore said that the U.S. Attorney stepped in for that case, and took over jurisdiction. He was happy to hand it over to them. But he was proud that it had all started with an I-15 stop by one of his Tribal officer.

Such events have made it necessary for the Tribal officers to ratchet up their safety and security procedures, Moore said.

“That kind of thing puts our little force on the map,” Moore said. “It gets the attention of the drug cartels that are using the interstate to traffic in illegal substances. So it makes things a little more dangerous on the highways for our guys. Our awareness is increased and we always have to take safety precautions.”

Moore said that all of the recent improvements to the Tribal Police force finally seem to have begun to earn a degree of respect and trust from the reservation residents.

“The hardest work we have done probably is to work to gain the trust of our community members,” Moore said. “In the past, the community has always had an adversarial relationship to the Tribal Police. But the tide has been changing.”

Moore said he looks forward to a long second career with the Tribal Police.

“I have enjoyed being here and working here,” he said. “I always say that I’ll be here until either they ask me to leave or until I’m not happy coming to work anymore. But I hope to be here for a good long time.”