Post by Okwes on Aug 6, 2006 18:59:16 GMT -5
Ramapoughs collect on promise
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
By CAROLYN SALAZAR
STAFF WRITER
Correction issued on Friday, Aug. 4, 2006: The Ramapoughs are a state-recognized tribe. The article below contains the original text.
Governor Corzine plans to create a special commission to study Native American issues in the state following the racially tense shooting of a Ramapough Lenape Indian four months ago, tribal leaders said Tuesday.
Corzine will sign an executive order creating the commission as early as this week, said tribal leader Anthony Van Dunk.
A spokesman for the governor, Anthony Coley, would not confirm the report Tuesday.
The order follows a series of meetings between the tribal leaders and Corzine after the April 1 shooting of Emil Mann.
Mann died from two gunshot wounds during a confrontation between tribe members and park police officers in a wooded section of Mahwah near Stagg Hill.
The shooting inflamed tensions between tribal members and law enforcement authorities. The Ramapoughs have said they were targeted by police while they were peacefully picnicking in the woods.
Corzine, along with state Attorney General Zulima Farber and state Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson, met with tribal leaders in late April to discuss their concerns.
By creating the commission, Van Dunk said, Corzine is delivering on a promise from the talks.
"The governor obviously sees that something needs to be done," he said.
Park Police Officer Chad Walder, who shot Mann, has not been charged in the shooting. His lawyer, Robert Galantucci, has said he was acting in self-defense.
Van Dunk said he is unsure what the intent of the commission will be, but he is certain it will not look into the Mahwah shooting. He speculated that it might consider ways to foster better communication between law enforcement officials and the Native American community.
Still uncertain is whether the commission will examine state recognition of the Ramapoughs, a source of tension between tribal members and government officials. The Ramapoughs have been fighting for state and federal tribal designation for decades.
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
By CAROLYN SALAZAR
STAFF WRITER
Correction issued on Friday, Aug. 4, 2006: The Ramapoughs are a state-recognized tribe. The article below contains the original text.
Governor Corzine plans to create a special commission to study Native American issues in the state following the racially tense shooting of a Ramapough Lenape Indian four months ago, tribal leaders said Tuesday.
Corzine will sign an executive order creating the commission as early as this week, said tribal leader Anthony Van Dunk.
A spokesman for the governor, Anthony Coley, would not confirm the report Tuesday.
The order follows a series of meetings between the tribal leaders and Corzine after the April 1 shooting of Emil Mann.
Mann died from two gunshot wounds during a confrontation between tribe members and park police officers in a wooded section of Mahwah near Stagg Hill.
The shooting inflamed tensions between tribal members and law enforcement authorities. The Ramapoughs have said they were targeted by police while they were peacefully picnicking in the woods.
Corzine, along with state Attorney General Zulima Farber and state Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson, met with tribal leaders in late April to discuss their concerns.
By creating the commission, Van Dunk said, Corzine is delivering on a promise from the talks.
"The governor obviously sees that something needs to be done," he said.
Park Police Officer Chad Walder, who shot Mann, has not been charged in the shooting. His lawyer, Robert Galantucci, has said he was acting in self-defense.
Van Dunk said he is unsure what the intent of the commission will be, but he is certain it will not look into the Mahwah shooting. He speculated that it might consider ways to foster better communication between law enforcement officials and the Native American community.
Still uncertain is whether the commission will examine state recognition of the Ramapoughs, a source of tension between tribal members and government officials. The Ramapoughs have been fighting for state and federal tribal designation for decades.