The state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the detention of three hunters near Brinnon by the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribal police last weekend.
Both Sheriff Tony Hernandez and Mike Cenci, state Fish and Wildlife deputy chief, said Wednesday they are investigating after Adam Boling of Brinnon filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office in which he said he, his 2-year-old son and two friends were detained illegally by tribal police at gunpoint on private property Saturday.
The men were not cited.
Hernandez confirmed that the men were hunting and were detained for an unknown amount of time by tribal police, but said he had no other information and didn’t want to speculate.
“We responded that day as an agency assist, and by the time our deputy arrived on scene the incident was over,” Hernandez said.
“Still, we are reviewing the incident, as the individual complained they were unlawfully detained.”
Both Hernandez and Cenci said that the question of whether or not the detention was legal depends upon jurisdiction: Did the tribal police have a right to detain non-tribal members on non-tribal land?
“I understand there are a number of questions that include jurisdiction and that will all come out in the investigation,” Cenci said.
Neither the state nor the sheriff’s office had received an official report about the incident from tribal police as of Wednesday night.
Phone calls for comment to Port Gamble S’Klallam Director/Chief of Public Safety Karl S. Gilje Sr. were not returned Wednesday.
Cenci said, “I can confirm, based on preliminary information, that on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3, Port Gamble S’Kallam tribal police detained a non-Indian hunter, and some of his friends and family, on non-tribal land after he had killed an elk in the Brinnon area of the Hood Canal.
Valid license, permit
“Also, at the time of the incident, the hunter was in an open area for licensed hunters with a special permit to hunt elk with a muzzle loader rifle,” Cenci added.
“And yes, the hunter had a valid state hunting license.”
Cenci said he expected to have more information Friday.
Both Hernandez and Cenci said they had not defined a scope of the investigation as of Wednesday, and would look at the incident as a whole.
“I plan to call Port Gamble today and request a copy of their report on the incident,” Hernandez said.
“I have received an official complaint from a resident of this county that they were unlawfully detained.”
Both Hernandez and Cenci said they do not know if any laws were broken by any party.
Boling’s account
Boling, 28, said that he, his 2-year-old son, Taylor, Don Phipps and Danny Phipps, both of Shelton, were hunting on private property Saturday morning with a rare elk tag acquired by Don Phipps.
The tag stipulates that a bull elk can be taken with a muzzle loader rifle within certain areas.
Boling said he and his son watched as Don Phipps shot and killed an elk, and then loaded the animal into the back of his pickup truck.
“Then, as we were driving off, two officers came out with guns pointed, screaming that we were under arrest,” Boling said.
“He had Don and Danny down on the ground at gunpoint and kept telling me to drop my son.
“I was holding him in my arms, and they were pointing a handgun and an assault rifle at me telling me to get on the ground.
“I had to put him down and he started screaming and crying.
“That was really, really hard for me to see.”
In his complaint to the sheriff’s office, Boling said he was detained for two hours while tribal law enforcement conducted their investigation.
“It was easily two hours,” Boling said. “I kept telling them they had no right to do this, but they kept going.
“I called the sheriff Monday morning and am currently in the process of getting an attorney.”
Tribal jurisdiction
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Stringer, a former officer with the Suquamish tribe, gave a brief definition of how he viewed the jurisdiction of tribal police.
“They can detain anyone on the reservation,” Stringer said. “The complication comes when they detain someone off the reservation.
“Unless they are policing tribal members or have a cross-commission from the sheriff, they really can’t.”
Hernandez said the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribe has no commission in Jefferson County.
Also, Stringer said that the amount of time the men were detained could be important.
“A reasonable amount of time to detain an individual is 15 to 20 minutes,” he said.
“Still, we don’t know how long the men were detained yet. We need to wait for the report.”
At least one eye-witness to the incident, C.J. Schaffer, 28, from Brinnon, agrees with the two-hour timeline.
“It was definately two hours,” Schaffer said.
“Maybe a few minutes shy or a few minutes longer, but it was right around two hours, no problem.”
Feels bad for son
Schaffer, a friend of Boling, said he felt the worst for Boling’s son.
“It has to be traumatizing for that kid,” he said.
“I’ve never been more scared in my life, so when I saw the poor kid running around and crying while Adam was in custody I asked the officers to let me take him.
“Thankfully, they did. Still, that was the craziest thing I have ever seen.”
Boling said he intends to follow through with both an investigation, and potentially a lawsuit, but it will never repair the damage he believes his son suffered in the incident.
“My dad took me hunting with him since I was a child, and I’ve done the same with my son,” Boling said.
“You teach him not to point guns at people and not to be afraid of police, and then this happens.
“What we were doing was totally legal. I just don’t understand.”
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
