WASHINGTON -- The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Law Enforcement Services (OLES) will hold its 11th Annual Memorial Service May 9, 2002, to commemorate the sacrifice made by tribal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty while serving on Indian lands. The Memorial Service will start at 10:30 A.M. on the BIA Indian Police Academy grounds in Artesia, New Mexico.
"The BIA Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial pays homage to those brave police officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice," Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb said. "We must never forget those individuals or their families for what they gave up while working for our safety."
Robert Ecoffey, Director, BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services will provide the keynote address. Kenneth Scabbyrobe, a spiritual leader from the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana will provide the blessing for the Memorial Service. At this year's Memorial Service, three names of fallen officers will be added to the granite stones joining seventy-eight other law enforcement officers, whom have lost their lives in the line of duty since 1852. The names of Officer Creighton T. Spencer, Elko, Nevada, Marshall Shelby D. Blackfox, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and Officer John Red Horse, Pine Ridge, South Dakota will join their fallen comrades on the Memorial.
Officer Creighton T. Spencer, BIA Law Enforcement died on March 25, 2001 while responding to a call for assistance in a town seventy-five miles away from his Elko, Nevada station. While in route, Officer Spencer lost control of his patrol car rolling it across the median where it was struck in mid-air by a semi-tractor trailer traveling in the opposite direction. Officer Spencer's death is particularly poignant since his father, Officer Jack Spencer; Captain of BIA Police at the Western Agency was tragically killed in the line of duty on September 25, 1998.
Shelby D. Blackfox, Cherokee Nation Marshall Service died on November 6, 2001 while en route to meet an informant in the matter of drug interdiction case when he lost control of the motorcycle he was riding and was hit by a passenger car going in the opposite direction.
John Red Horse, Indian Police, Pine Ridge, South Dakota was killed on November 14, 1894 near an Indian camp near Rushville, Nebraska. Officer Red Horse was responding to break up a fight, when an individual in the group attacked him with a club, others joined in beating Officer Red Horse to death.
The Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial site is constructed with Native American symbolism and traditional plants incorporated into the design. The three granite stones are surrounded by a cement/aggregate surface forming a circle around the vertical slabs with an opening to allow for access. Sage, a plant with spiritual significance, is planted in the four directions to consecrate the hallow ground. Four planter areas are filled foliage surrounded by white, red, yellow, and black stones to signify the four colors of mankind on the Earth.
The original Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial was dedicated on May 7, 1992 at the BIA's Indian Police Academy (IPA), in Marana, Arizona. The Memorial was later moved to Artesia, New Mexico and re-dedicated on May 6, 1993 when the BIA Indian Police Academy was relocated to New Mexico.
A 750 person department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Law Enforcement Services provide uniformed police services, detention operations, and criminal investigation of alleged or suspected violations of major federal criminal laws in Indian Country
Who: BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services
What: 11th Annual Memorial Service for Fallen Law Enforcement Officers
When: May 9, 2002 10:30 A.M. MDT
Where: BIA Indian Police Academy 1300 West Richey Avenue Artesia, New Mexico
