Trial Begins in Tribal Smoke Shop Raid

The AP reports:

A trial pitting Rhode Island against its only federally recognized American Indian tribe opened Friday with prosecutors saying seven Narragansett Indians should be punished for blocking and fighting state police during 2003 raid on a tribal smoke shop.

But lawyers for the accused, including Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, said the state has simply decided to flex its muscle against the less powerful 2,400-member tribe. Attorney William Devereaux asked jurors to send a message.

"Your verdict is going to tell people in power we don't accept this, this isn't the way we do things here in the state of Rhode Island," Devereaux said. "There's a better way."

Thomas and six other tribe members are charged with misdemeanor crimes ranging from disorderly conduct to assault. Each charge carries a maximum prison sentence of one year, although lawyers say it is unlikely anyone would be imprisoned if convicted.

The arrests occurred on July 14, 2003, when state police raided a newly opened tribal smoke shop in Charlestown that was not collecting state taxes.

Frustrated when its latest proposal to build a casino failed in 2003, the impoverished tribe began selling tax-free cigarettes in a small, prefabricated shop on its land.

A federal appeals court later ruled the shop was operating illegally. In return for receiving 1,800 acres of land in 1978, the tribe signed a treaty subjecting that land to state law, including tax provisions.

Police got a warrant to search the shop, but when they arrived, tribe members blocked the way.

One defendant, John Brown, tried to block police officers and resisted being put in handcuffs, prosecutor Pamela Chin told jurors. She accused another defendant, Bella Noka, of leaping onto a police officer's back and trying to gouge his right eye. A third, Hiawatha Brown, knocked down a state trooper and slammed her arm in a steel door at the shop's entrance. She said Thomas was arrested when he tried to interfere with an arrest.

The violent fracas was filmed by TV cameras, and jurors viewed several video clips Friday morning.

"This case is about what happened to the state police troopers when they attempted to do their job and execute the search warrant," Chin said.

Devereaux did not dispute that tribe members resisted. But he said state officials used too much force, sending 51 police officers, including a SWAT team and a police dog, to enforce tobacco laws. He said the raid shocked tribe leaders who expected that Gov. Don Carcieri's administration would resolve the issue with a civil lawsuit.

Testimony was scheduled to resume Monday.

Rhode Island's Supreme Court tried for months to avoid the trial because some justices feared it could become politically and racially charged. The high court forced prosecutors and the defense to meet with a court-appointed mediator, but they could not reach a plea deal.

The tax man needs money!