Post by blackcrowheart on Mar 31, 2008 13:48:10 GMT -5
Narragansett Chief Testifies In Smoke Shop Trail
By Eric Tucker , Associated Press Writer Published on 3/28/2008
By Mary Murphy, Pool
• Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas testifies Thursday in Superior Court in Providence.
Providence — The leader of the Narragansett Indian Tribe says he was bracing for a legal fight after his tribe opened a tax-free smoke shop on tribal lands five years ago, even telling members of the governor's staff that he expected to see them in court.
Instead, two days after the business opened, state troopers raided the shop, pushing and shoving him and ignoring demands that they present a warrant, Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas testified Thursday in the criminal trial of seven tribe members accused of resisting arrest or scuffling with the police during the conflict.
Thomas and six other Narragansetts face misdemeanor charges ranging from disorderly conduct to assault stemming from the July 14, 2003, raid of the tribal smoke shop in Charlestown.
Thomas was the final witness in the case, and lawyers were scheduled to present closing arguments on Monday.
The altercation, videotaped by TV news crews, occurred when dozens of state troopers tried to shut down the smoke shop because it was selling cigarettes without the state-mandated taxes.
The shop was conceived as a money-making venture for a tribe that has grappled with poverty, and Thomas said the Narragansetts — Rhode Island's only federally recognized American Indian tribe — believed they had the right to operate the business on tribal lands. A federal appeals court has since ruled that the shop was operating illegally.
“We felt that we had the regulatory authority to do what we were doing,” he explained.
Thomas said he met with members of the governor's staff a day before the raid. He said he knew the smoke shop was bound to provoke a reaction from the governor, though he said no one mentioned a warrant or plans for a raid. He said he directed the tribe's lawyer to prepare legal briefs on the smoke shop in preparation for an expected court fight.
“My expectation was that the state would do what they normally do with us, which is drag us into court,” Thomas said.
Early the next afternoon, state troopers arrived at the shop after obtaining a state warrant. Thomas can be heard on the video asking troopers to show him the “papers,” which in that case referred to a federal search warrant.
Tribal officers had been instructed not to let the troopers onto the property unless they showed a federal warrant. Narragansett leaders had claimed the land was exempt from state law, though a federal appeals court has rejected that argument.
Thomas said no one showed him any warrant or even answered his questions.
“I just remember the looks on their faces,” Thomas said. “They looked like they meant business. They weren't talking to nobody.”
Thomas said he did not see the state's warrant until he was released from the state police barracks later in the day. A state police lieutenant testified earlier in the trial that the situation was too chaotic to present paperwork.
A defense lawyer showed video taken during the raid in which an angry Thomas, before being arrested, tells TV news cameras, “We're not violent people. If we lost in court, we would have closed.”
Under cross-examination from prosecutor Maria Deaton, Thomas acknowledged that he had not seen any of the troopers throw punches or draw their weapons.
Deaton showed video of Thomas wrestling with a state trooper just outside the smoke shop's entrance. Thomas said he became physical with the trooper only after seeing a fellow tribe member getting roughed up.
“I didn't have time to do anything,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Bella Noka, another of the seven defendants, testified that she was tackled to the ground and that a trooper had stuck his knee in her groin, causing “terrible pain.”
“I said, 'do you treat your wives like this?' My husband doesn't treat me like this,” Noka recalled saying to the troopers. “I was treated very badly and I was violated.”
Providence
By Eric Tucker , Associated Press Writer Published on 3/28/2008
By Mary Murphy, Pool
• Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas testifies Thursday in Superior Court in Providence.
Providence — The leader of the Narragansett Indian Tribe says he was bracing for a legal fight after his tribe opened a tax-free smoke shop on tribal lands five years ago, even telling members of the governor's staff that he expected to see them in court.
Instead, two days after the business opened, state troopers raided the shop, pushing and shoving him and ignoring demands that they present a warrant, Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas testified Thursday in the criminal trial of seven tribe members accused of resisting arrest or scuffling with the police during the conflict.
Thomas and six other Narragansetts face misdemeanor charges ranging from disorderly conduct to assault stemming from the July 14, 2003, raid of the tribal smoke shop in Charlestown.
Thomas was the final witness in the case, and lawyers were scheduled to present closing arguments on Monday.
The altercation, videotaped by TV news crews, occurred when dozens of state troopers tried to shut down the smoke shop because it was selling cigarettes without the state-mandated taxes.
The shop was conceived as a money-making venture for a tribe that has grappled with poverty, and Thomas said the Narragansetts — Rhode Island's only federally recognized American Indian tribe — believed they had the right to operate the business on tribal lands. A federal appeals court has since ruled that the shop was operating illegally.
“We felt that we had the regulatory authority to do what we were doing,” he explained.
Thomas said he met with members of the governor's staff a day before the raid. He said he knew the smoke shop was bound to provoke a reaction from the governor, though he said no one mentioned a warrant or plans for a raid. He said he directed the tribe's lawyer to prepare legal briefs on the smoke shop in preparation for an expected court fight.
“My expectation was that the state would do what they normally do with us, which is drag us into court,” Thomas said.
Early the next afternoon, state troopers arrived at the shop after obtaining a state warrant. Thomas can be heard on the video asking troopers to show him the “papers,” which in that case referred to a federal search warrant.
Tribal officers had been instructed not to let the troopers onto the property unless they showed a federal warrant. Narragansett leaders had claimed the land was exempt from state law, though a federal appeals court has rejected that argument.
Thomas said no one showed him any warrant or even answered his questions.
“I just remember the looks on their faces,” Thomas said. “They looked like they meant business. They weren't talking to nobody.”
Thomas said he did not see the state's warrant until he was released from the state police barracks later in the day. A state police lieutenant testified earlier in the trial that the situation was too chaotic to present paperwork.
A defense lawyer showed video taken during the raid in which an angry Thomas, before being arrested, tells TV news cameras, “We're not violent people. If we lost in court, we would have closed.”
Under cross-examination from prosecutor Maria Deaton, Thomas acknowledged that he had not seen any of the troopers throw punches or draw their weapons.
Deaton showed video of Thomas wrestling with a state trooper just outside the smoke shop's entrance. Thomas said he became physical with the trooper only after seeing a fellow tribe member getting roughed up.
“I didn't have time to do anything,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Bella Noka, another of the seven defendants, testified that she was tackled to the ground and that a trooper had stuck his knee in her groin, causing “terrible pain.”
“I said, 'do you treat your wives like this?' My husband doesn't treat me like this,” Noka recalled saying to the troopers. “I was treated very badly and I was violated.”
Providence