Red Rock, Okla.--The Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the City of Perry have signed a cross-deputization agreement that both governments believe will provide their citizens with better law enforcement.

The formal agreement gives each law enforcement agency the ability to provide aid and assistance, including reinforcement or “back-up” assistance, and immediate response to crisis situations to the other party.

Representatives of the City of Perry attended the tribe’s open monthly Tribal Council Meeting to show their support of the agreement. The Tribal Council passed the resolution with a vote of 6 for and 0 against 1 abstaining. That evening Chief Eric Payne of the Otoe-Missouria Police Department attended the Perry City Council Meeting as a representative of the tribe. The City Council passed the Memorandum of Understanding with at 7 aye and 2 nay votes.

This is the second time a formal agreement has been presented to each government. The first time was in 2009, but an agreement could not be reached that was suitable to both parties.

“It is a historical and exciting time for both the tribe and the city,” Tribal Chairman John R. Shotton stated. “I feel a well-planned cross-deputization agreement will be beneficial to both the City of Perry and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe.”

Chief Payne, who has been working on this and cross-deputization agreements with other jurisdictions for the past several years, said there were other issues that made such an agreement necessary.

“The City of Perry officers have assisted us in the past with our concert events,” he said, “but there was not an official agreement in place at the time. They have also assisted us in the investigation of major crimes. An official agreement ensures that Perry officers have authority in both those instances should the need arise.”

City of Perry Police Chief Brian Thomas says that the agreement will be mutually beneficial for both jurisdictions.

“The benefit for the cross-deputization is for two agencies to come together to better provide and protect their citizens,” Chief Thomas says. “We have always had a mutual aid agreement with the Otoe Tribe, but with this cross-deputization it will allow either agency to act and have lawful arrest powers to eliminate any possible litigation. The working relationship we have with Chief Payne and the Otoe Tribe is exceptional and professional.” 

Chief Payne says that the tribe’s ultimate goal is to become cross-deputized with other jurisdictions that border the Otoe-Missouria’s more than 5,000 acres of tribally held land.  

“Hopefully, this agreement is only the first of many,” Chief Payne says. “I would like to continue dialogue with other jurisdictions about signing agreements with them in the future.”

The Otoe-Missouria Tribe is located in Northern Oklahoma and has more than 3,000 members located throughout the United States. The tribe was relocated from Nebraska to Indian Territory in 1881. Today, they are one of the largest employers in Kay and Noble County with four casinos, two convenience stores and gas stations, a propane company, a hotel, an entertainment center and a cattle ranch.