‘Long time coming’: Gila River Indian Community opens new police department

The Gila River Indian Community held a grand opening celebration for the new Gila River Police Department building in Sacton, Arizona, on June 28, 2024. The nearly 49,000-square-foot facility was built in 18 months. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror

The doors to the new Gila River Police Department open to the east. Gila River Police Chief Jesse Crabtree said that many Indigenous communities build their homes with doors facing the east to welcome the sunrise, which often represents renewal and a fresh start.

“From here on out, for generations upon generations to come, the Gila River Police Headquarters will have the first ray of sunshine every single morning,” Crabtree said.

Tribal, state and federal leaders gathered Friday in Sacaton, on the Gila River Indian Community, to celebrate the grand opening of the new Gila River Police Department.

Crabtree said the new headquarters is a building that the community can be proud of.

“This will be a place for safety and security for the community,” he added.

Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said the building has taken three decades to come to fruition, and it’s a “long time coming.”

Over the years, Lewis said that the Gila River Tribal police officers have had to make do with substandard conditions, often working in cramped conditions and writing their end-of-shift reports in their police cars when office space wasn’t available. The department has even stored evidence in pods outside its old building to preserve its integrity.

“Our officers showed up and every day they did their job, and they did their best in less than ideal conditions,” Lewis said, noting that the original police department building was not unlike many across Indian Country, built decades ago and outdated.

Lewis said the tribe was committed to creating the type of police department the community needs and a space their law enforcement deserve.

The new building took 18 months to build, according to the tribe, and throughout the design process, local cultural stories helped guide the architects.

“In keeping with GRIC culture, the station balances sun and shade, a connection to the sky, the importance of water and a relationship to the desert landscape,” the tribe stated.

Some improved features in the Gila River Police Department building include a state-of-the-art dispatch center, a 9,500-square-foot indoor shooting range, a shade structure covering a pedestrian plaza, appropriate rooms for victims and spaces for officers to debrief, write reports and decompress after a shift.

“The new police headquarters will benefit the police staff and community for generations,” Crabtree said.

The culture of the Gila River Indian Community can be seen throughout the new police department, Lewis said, whether it’s the artwork throughout the building or culturally significant themes spaces, which allow the community to engage positively with officers.

“It’s a gathering place for our community,” Lewis said. “It’s a functioning police department, but it’s embedded with our culture, so it’s very welcoming to our community.”

White House Senior Advisor Tom Perez said he toured the Gila River Police Department, and he’d never seen a police department like that before.

“It really embodies the spirit of community policing,” he said, adding that he hopes police officers and the community take advantage of what the building has to offer.

“For those of you who are members of the community, you should know this place is for you,” Perez said. “For those of you who have been victims of crime, I hope you know that this place is for you.”

The opening of the new Gila River Police Department comes a few weeks after tragedy struck the community when Gila River Tribal Police Officer Joshua Briese was fatally shot, and Field Training Officer Garrett Bustamante was seriously wounded responding to a disturbance on June 1 in the San Tan Community, located in District 4 of the Gila River Indian Community.

Four Gila River Indian Community members were also injured during the disturbance in San Tan, and Gila River Indian Community Member Alicen Apkaw died of her injuries .

As part of the grand opening of the Gila River Police Department, the memorial wall was unveiled, and Brises’ name was added alongside Officer Kevin Lewis and Cadet Armando Reyes, Jr.

“The Police Department was adamant that a memorial wall was needed to honor those who gave all in the line of duty,” Lewis said, adding that the building comes at the right time for the Gila River people.

“The community is looking at leadership for healing,” he said. “I think this is a first step in healing, making sure that we have a facility such as this to provide safety and security for our community members.”

The new Gila River Police Department was built in partnership with the Department of Indian Affairs under the Department of Interior as part of the 105(l) Lease Program , also known as 105L, according to Lewis.

This program is provided under the Indian Self-Determination Education and Assistance Act (ISDEAA), which allows tribal nations and organizations to enter into an agreement with the Department of Indian Affairs to reimburse facility costs.

Costs are reimbursed when a facility operated by the tribal nation or organization carries out ISDEAA-approved programs, functions, services and activities.

“It’s been at the forefront of using this section 105L program to help catalyze growth and development everywhere,” Perez said, adding that how Gila River has used it correctly needs to be replicated across Indian County.

The Gila River Indian Community has used “this innovative program,” Lewis said, to build the Gila Crossing Community School, the Casa Blanca Community School and now the Gila River Police Department.

He said this is their third tribal construction project utilizing the 105L program, but the Gila River Police Department is the first law enforcement building in Indian Country constructed under the program.

“We opened the door for Indian Country; we’ve pioneered this approach,” Lewis said, explaining that he wants to see other tribal nations leverage the program for their own needs. “We want this for other tribes, if not in Arizona, across Indian Country.”

Lewis said that utilizing the 105L program has been a “game changer” for the Gila River Indian Community, and he believes that the process allows tribal nations to build for the future.

Lewis said the lease program does not relieve the federal government of its trust responsibility to provide critical services for tribal nations, such as law enforcement, health care, and education.

“This program is a true expression of the government-to-government trust relationship that can exist for tribes,” Lewis said.

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