Video by a Muskogee Nation Lighthorse officer shows an altercation in the Okmulgee County Jail
By: Traditionally, when authorities take someone to jail, it's after they've dealt with unruly behavior, not before it.
"You put your hands on him!" shouted one officer.
The lead-up to this shoving match between two law enforcement agencies began on Monday when members of the Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police tried to drop off someone they had arrested at the Okmulgee County jail.
In the bodycam video, you can see three Lighthorse officers entering the receiving area with their prisoner. The men in blue are employees of the jail, and the dispute begins when jail officials tell the Lighthorse they won't be accepting their prisoner.
"You guys are taking him."
"I’m not taking him."
" We can stay here all day."
"That’s what we’re going to do until you take him out of my building. "
According to the Muscogee Nation Attorney General, the Lighthorse were told, "...that it was the jail’s policy to not accept any suspects from Lighthorse Police." And that jail staff told them "that they did not recognize Lighthorse as “real police.”
Things escalated when the Lighthorse Deputy Chief followed the jail employees into the control room, clearly, an area they did not want him as you can see the jail employee trying to block him as things get physical. The Lighthorse in the other room sees this and bangs on the door to be let in. When they are, tensions continue to flare.
"Do not put your hands on him!" shouts one officer as expletives fly.
Wednesday the Lighthorse tried to serve an arrest warrant on a jail employee for battery, with the Muscogee Nation Attorney General stating, "We intend to ensure that Matthew Douglas is held accountable for his assault on Deputy Chief Northcross" By Thursday tensions had calmed, and jail officials said the warrant had been recalled.
Governor Stitt issued a statement saying; “This is the direct effect of the broken system created by the McGirt decision. Without jurisdictional clarity, we are left with a patchwork system and heightened tensions. I am glad cooler heads prevailed and prevented the situation from escalating to a dangerous level, but this demonstrates the need for collective action. In response, I am gathering stakeholders to discuss practical solutions that keep our citizens and law enforcement safe while I continue to call on Congress and the courts to address this problem.”