Tensions rise as Muscogee Nation accuses county jailer of assaulting officer

The Muscogee Nation has issued an arrest warrant for an Okmulgee County jailer accused of assaulting a tribal Lighthorse Police officer during a dispute over a jail booking.

The incident unfolded Monday after Lighthorse Police arrested a non-Native man in Okmulgee, according to Geri Wisner, the attorney general for the Muscogee Nation. The dispute continued into Wednesday, when Lighthorse Police returned to the jail to try to serve the arrest warrant but ultimately left without doing so.

Officials at the jail, which is operated by the Okmulgee County Criminal Justice Authority, have not returned messages seeking comment.

Tensions between county and tribal law enforcement agencies have simmered for years, with many of the conflicts rooted in jurisdictional disputes tied to the landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling. The Muscogee Nation and Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office still have not agreed to allow their officers to enforce state and tribal public safety laws simultaneously, although the tribe has similar agreements with dozens of other agencies that operate on its eastern Oklahoma reservation.

In the case of Monday’s arrest, Lighthorse Police officers were acting under a cross deputization agreement with a state agency, the Grand River Dam Authority, Wisner said at a press conference Thursday.

She said a Lighthorse officer noticed a man was driving the wrong way in a school zone, and the man later told officers he had fentanyl in his possession.

When Lighthorse officers tried to drop the man off at the Okmulgee County jail, an employee said he would not take him into custody, Wisner said. Muscogee officials also released a video, which they said shows the incident. It was captured by an officer’s body camera.

What to know about the Lighthorse officer’s body cam footage

The video appears to show a verbal argument between county jail workers and Lighthorse Police officers. When one jail employee turns around to walk to a separate part of the jail, a Lighthorse officer follows him. A door shuts and locks behind them. Other Lighthorse officers try to get into the room, then start yelling. Officers can see into the room through a window in the door.

The body camera footage then appears to show the jail employee and Lighthorse officer get into a physical altercation. The door obscures the full view and audio of what led to the altercation. Lighthorse officers can be heard calling for back up. Other jail workers rush to open the door and block more Lighthorse officers from entering the room. One man on the video can be heard saying, “Out of my building, gentlemen.”

Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice, who sits on the jail trust, did not return a phone message to discuss what happened. But a sheriff’s office employee provided a written statement attributed to Rice. In it, he said sheriff’s deputies also responded to the jail during the dispute. He said the arrested man was ultimately booked into the jail “after all proper booking procedures were completed.”

Photos of Lighthorse Police responding to the initial call for help on Monday have circulated online. Wisner disputed claims that Lighthorse Police have responded in such large numbers to the jail since Monday.

A spokesman for Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he had been in talking with all agencies “to ensure a peaceful and lawful resolution.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement that the incident “demonstrates the need for collective action” to work through jurisdictional questions tied to the McGirt decision. “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,” Stitt said.

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Under a federal law passed in 2022, tribal nations can prosecute anyone accused of assaulting a tribal police officer. Wisner identified the jail employee named in the warrant as Matthew Douglas. She said he faces a charge of protected status battery of Lighthorse Deputy Chief Dennis Northcross.

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, Douglas had not turned himself into Muscogee Nation authorities. He could not be reached for comment, and it is unknown whether he retained an attorney.

Speaking at the press conference, Wisner said the incident points to the broader difficulties tribal police face as they are working toward the same goal as other law enforcement agencies.

“In reality, I think this is the first layer of an onion, if you will, of a long history of conflict, of racism, of a number of issues that existed,” Wisner said.