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| Standing Rock, Aug. 12, 2016, Photo Jon Eagle, Sr, Censored News |
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, March 17, 2024
BISMARCK, North Dakota -- The head of BIA law enforcement tried to avoid answering questions about his involvement with the massive police response at Standing Rock, during the resistance to Dakota Access Pipeline -- but his e-mails in a court deposition made it impossible for him to deny it.
Darren Cruzan, BIA director of Justice Services in Washington, was present during briefings with Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier and law enforcement.
Cruzan's testimony is part of the current case before the federal court. The State of North Dakota is seeking $38 million from the U.S. government to recover its cost of the protest, accusing the U.S. Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies of failing to act to clear the camps.
However, during questions, Cruzan at first said he didn't remember being in North Dakota for weeks in 2016.
It was the arrest of Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault by the Morton County Sheriff Department on August 12, 2016, that triggered a blast of emails through BIA law enforcement -- from Chad Harmon, head of BIA law enforcement at Standing Rock, to Washington.
As e-mails buzzed, BIA regional law enforcement in Aberdeen, South Dakota, quickly notified Cruzan that there were BIA officers and a BIA mobile command center ready for mobilization, the deposition reveals.
The BIA sent a mobile command vehicle from Oklahoma, District 2, which had radio dispatchers in front, and a meeting space in the rear, and parked it at Prairie Knights Casino, Cruzan said.
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| BIA mobile command at Prairie Knights casino. Photo by Unicorn Riot media. |
Narcotics officers from the BIA were hanging out at the Prairie Knights Casino, undercover, in order to extract details from inside the camps in order to brief law enforcement.
Cruzan describes the unified command vehicle, in his deposition.
After Archambault's arrest, Cruzan met in morning briefings with local law enforcement.
During law enforcement briefings, aerial surveillance was shown of the water protectors caravans leaving camps. Police watched closely when the caravans went to Mandan or Bismarck, Cruzan said.
The video surveillance was by a U S. Border Patrol drone that provided ongoing surveillance of the water protectors camps, the deposition reveals.
BIA surveillance from human sources was also shared by BIA officers with the Morton County Sheriff, Cruzan said.
Cruzan said the BIA had officers working with Morton County in "intelligence gathering" and they were present at command center briefings.
BIA officers were just one of the law enforcement teams from the Interior Department at Standing Rock in the buildup of law enforcement.
The Interior Department also sent officers from the National Park Service, Park Police, Fish and Wildlife, BLM, and other agencies, Cruzan said.
Much of the information revealed in the deposition was kept secret until now.
During the deposition, Cruzan repeatedly said, "I don't remember." His e-mails were shown as exhibits during the deposition, which resulted in him providing more information.
Cruzan pointed out that the BIA's law enforcement jurisdiction is on tribal lands.
However, Cruzan said it was never clear to him where the exact boundaries of tribal land were, and the boundaries of the land that the Army Corps claimed, and whether the camps were on Army Corps land. Further, BIA was part of the police response on the highway into the camp, he said.
The deposition covers the events of early August 2016 when water protectors began arriving by the hundreds to protect the Missouri River, and Lakota, Dakota and Nakota sacred and burial places, from the destruction of the pipeline construction.
As water protectors arrived, the BIA law enforcement e-mails included an alert that "busloads" of supporters were on their way to Standing Rock. This was viewed as an alarm, and a need to prepare more law enforcement response.
During questions, Cruzan said the BIA left it up to sovereign tribes to decide whether to allow camping.
The deposition examiner, Paul Seby, representing the State of North Dakota, questioned Cruzan's view of camping on tribal land.
Cruzan said Chairman Archambault changed his opinion about the camps more than once.
Meanwhile, The Intercept had already exposed the BIA's involvement in recruiting a paid FBI informant, which had dire consequences for the Lakota woman he targeted.
Heath Harmon, was exposed as a paid FBI informant in Standing Rock camps. Harmon, Three Affiliated Tribes, was owner of the gun resulting in the arrest of Red Fawn, who was sentenced to nearly five years in prison.
Heath Harmon was recruited by his brother Chad Harmon, head of BIA law enforcement at Standing Rock, The Intercept reported.
In the current case, FBI Supervisor Jacob O'Connell said BIA officers were positioned on the south side of the camps and monitored the camps from there.
Cruzan was being questioned by Attorney Paul Seby, representing the State of North Dakota, in a Torts Claim seeking $38 million from the U.S. government to recover its costs of the protest. The deposition is part of the current case in North Dakota federal court.
North Dakota accuses the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and federal agencies of failing to stop the protest and clear the camps out. The four week trial ended on Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor is expected to be months away. Traynor is allowing attorneys to follow provide summary documents.Article in progress, please check back.
In a case now before the federal court -- Marcus Mitchell, Dine' (Navajo) was shot in his eye by a shotgun fired by law enforcement at Standing Rock in the early hours of January 18, 2017, at Backwater Bridge. After he was shot, militarized law enforcement threw him on the ground and he felt like he was drowning in his own blood. After waking from surgery, he had to endure questioning by law enforcement in the hospital.
Article copyright Brenda Norrell, Censored News, content may not be used without written permission.
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