Violent raid shuts tribe's tobacco shop
The tribe and the state expect to be in court today over the dispute.
07/15/2003
BY KATIE MULVANEY and PAUL DAVIS
Journal Staff Writers
CHARLESTOWN -- State troopers stormed the Narragansett Indian
tribe's newly opened tax-free smoke shop yesterday, seizing cigarettes
and cash and leaving its leaders bruised and bloodied. The melee sent
eight people to the hospital with minor injuries and ended with seven
tribal members being arrested, including Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas.
The police burst through the woods in a northeast corner of the tribe's
land in Route 2 shortly after 1 p.m., only to meet with a line of tribal
members prepared to stand their ground.
Clumps of four to five officers took tribal leaders to the ground amid a
frenzy of shouts and scuffling. Six troopers wrestled Thomas to the
dirt. Tribal Preservation Officer John Brown's shirt was ripped. A state
police German shepherd bit tribal Councilman Hiawatha Brown's upper
right arm.
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A state police major, left, and other troopers scuffle with members of the Narragansett Indian tribe, including First Councilman Randy Noka, on the ground, outside the tribe's smoke shop in Charlestown yesterday.
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Tribal Administrator Anthony Dean Stanton was thrown down the steps
leading up to the store, where customers awaited a shipment of Marlboro
and Winston cigarettes.
State police, some wearing flak vests, took seven tribal members into
custody after they attempted to block the officers' entrance to the
tribe's lands.
Governor Carcieri described the day's events as "truly regrettable, but
truly necessary," precipitated by the the Narragansett Indians and their
"flagrant violation of state law."
The state police cleared the shop's shelves and $900 from the register
and carted away boxes of cigarettes in a white van. The shop, open for
only two days, was emptied, except for a few Marlboro signs, one with a
cowboy tipping his hat. A handful of coins remained in a tips jar by the
cash register.
Tribal members said the scene smacked of the civil-rights struggles of
the '50s and '60s, when police used dogs and clubs to halt sit-ins and
protests.
"There's no need for dogs. There was no need for a SWAT team-type
atmosphere," said Thomas, who wore two flesh-colored bandages on his
left hand. "It looked like something out of Mississippi."
The tribe and the state expect to be in court today over the dispute.
The governor said the state would go to Superior Court for a court order
"to stop any further illegal activity." John Killoy Jr., the
Narragansetts' lawyer, said he would ask that the case be heard in
federal court.
Yesterday's conflict was rooted in the ongoing dispute over the
Narragansetts' status as a federally recognized nation with sovereign
rights. The tenor of that struggle had heightened recently with the
tribe's bid to put a plan for a West Warwick casino before voters in
November.
It heated up further when the tribe announced plans to open a tax-free
tobacco shop against the state's wishes. The tribe delayed its opening
this spring, at the governor's request.
The shop opened on Saturday. The chief and Cariceri talked throughout
the weekend as customers flocked to pick up cheap cigarettes.
Throughout the morning yesterday, Thomas seemed to sense there would be
some kind of showdown with the state. As cars with Connecticut,
Massachusetts and New York license plates drove into the lot, the chief
and his lawyer prepared to appear in court.
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Narragansett Indian Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas wrestles with a state trooper during yesterday's raid.
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He said his men were ready to protect thir lands from any enemy --
foreign or domestic -- under the Narragansett tribe's constitution.
"We're sure the state is going to try something," the chief said. "If
the state comes in here, they're going to see a war like they haven't
since Wounded Knee."
At around 1 p.m., Hiawatha Brown alerted the chief that state police
were approaching from the north.
Adam "Silver Arrow" Jennings' ankle was broken in the scuffle. Jennings
was standing next to his 63-year-old mother, Paulla, when state troopers
pushed him down and told him to keep his hands behind him, he said.
"One person had a knee on my head, one person was holding my neck,
someone was pushing my back down and another was twisting my ankle,"
said Jennings.
"They threw us to the ground," said Dan Piccoli, a customer from Warwick
who had been waiting on the steps for cigarettes to arrive at the shop.
"They were throwing people left and right."
Narragansetts chanted "Let our chief go" as state police cleared the
scene.
State police held the five male tribal members in a room in the rear of
the Hope Valley state police barracks. The members joked with reporters
through the barred windows, showing off their bumps and bandages. They
were released one at a time to cheering onlookers gathered outside the
barracks. The chief hugged his wife, Beverly, upon his release.
State police charged Thomas and Hiawatha Brown with disorderly conduct
and assaulting a police officer. They were released on $1,000 surety
bail, which requires 10 percent in cash. John Brown, tribal
Environmental Police Officer Thawn Harris, and First Councilman Randy
Noka were charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and
released on personal recognizance. Bella Noka, Randy's wife, was also
charged with disorderly conduct and released.
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Governor Carcieri speaks at a press conference last night, behind him is Attorney General Patrick Lynch.
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Governor Carcieri cut short a family vacation in Ohio and canceled a
trip to the Republican Governors conference in Colorado.
Stepping off a flight at T.F. Green Airport into a conference room late
yesterday afternoon, Carcieri took responsibility for the state police
action and denounced the tribe's decision to open the smoke shop.
"Today's actions were precipitated by the Narragansett Indians and their
flagrant violation of state law," said Carcieri, who was flanked by
state police Col. Steven Pare and Atty. Gen. Patrick Lynch.
The troopers entered the property under a court-issued search warrant
that he ordered be executed, the governor said.
"We do not take today's actions lightly," Carcieri said. "We deliberated
long and hard before authorizing today's response."
Lynch supported Carcieri's action, saying the governor had been
"remarkably patient" in the face of obvious lawbreaking by the tribe.
Lynch said the tribe's operation of an illegal, tax-free tobacco store
was no different than if "Cumberland Farms," the convenience store
chain, had decided to sell cigarettes without collecting state and
federal taxes.
"The Narragansett Indians have refused to cooperate and have chosen
instead to flout state law," said Carcieri. "They demanded that in
return for closing the smoke shop that I must drop my opposition to a
casino."
"That was outrageous," said Carcieri.
Yesterday evening, Thomas spoke at a news conference as a ceremonial
fire burned on the ground before the empty smoke shop and hundreds of
Narragansetts and their supporters gathered.
The chief said he and the governor had spoken over the weekend. He
expected the conflict to be resolved through the courts, he said.
"The state made a huge mistake today and that will be proven," Thomas
said. "The state ignores the federal status of the tribe. The tribe did
what it's always done -- protect its land. It's unfortunate because it's
2003." The tribe's talks with the state failed to produce a business
venture that would provide enough money to help his people, Thomas said.
The tribe, he said earlier, is losing $1.5 million in federal money.
"We've been at this for 14 years with a casino before the state of Rhode
Island," he said.
Around the tribal fire later last night, tribal members danced and
chanted. The events haunted many of the 200 tribal members gathered.
"I didn't think anything the likes of this could happen in America,"
Bella Noka said. "This happens in Iraq. They showed my chief no respect."
Police handcuffed her husband, who cried out to her, and urged her not
to fight. They took the Nokas and their 15-year-old son, Norman, into
custody. Norman was not charged. His sister, Chali, 16, was also thrown
to the ground. Bloody gashes were visible on her dust-covered legs after
the clash. Chali was among those treated at nearby hospitals for minor
injuries.
Rachel Sylvia, of East Providence, was among a handful of customers who
gathered in front of the store throughout the morning. A tribal welcome
played from an SUV as she waited for Seneca cigarettes to arrive at the
shop when the police came on the scene.
"It was like a riot. They pulled the chief down. They put a young girl
on the ground," Sylvia, an Aztec, said, her eyes tearing. "I want to
know who allowed this."
Killoy, the tribe's lawyer, collected dozens of statements from tribal
members and customers describing the events.
Killoy said he would meet with Thomas today to discuss whether the
police violated the rights of tribal members.
When asked whether the tribe would sue the police for brutality, Thomas
said, "I'm not going to walk away with all these bruises."
With reports from Journal staff writers Scott MacKay and Megan Matteucci
