Muscogee Light horse Police physical altercation at the Okmulgee Jail - Light horse Body Cam

A physical altercation at the Okmulgee County Jail on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, between jail staff and a Muscogee Nation Lighthorse deputy chief was captured by a Lighthorse body camera.
Muscogee Creek Nation Attorney General Geri Wisner
The Violence Against Women Act of 2022 expanded Tribal authority to prosecute non-Indians who assault tribal justice officials. Based on this authority, the Muscogee Nation has issued an arrest warrant for Matthew J. Douglas, an Okmulgee County Jail official, for the charge of Protected Status Battery of Lighthorse Police Deputy Chief Dennis Northcross.
The incident took place at the Okmulgee County Jail on Monday, December 18, as Lighthorse Police Officers, acting under the cross-deputization commission of the Grand River Dam Authority, attempted to deliver a suspect arrested for fentanyl possession and driving recklessly in a school zone.
On Monday, December 18, a Lighthorse Police officer witnessed a driver moving on the wrong side of the road in a school zone. The officer affected a traffic stop and requested Okmulgee Police Department to attend the incident. Okmulgee Police Department informed him of their refusal to respond.
The officer noticed drug paraphernalia in the passenger seat and the suspect consented to a vehicle search. During a search of the suspect's person, the officer witnessed a rubber case fall from the suspect's waistband, which he then admitted to the officer, contained fentanyl.
Acting under the authority of a cross deputization commission with the Grand River Dam Authority, the officer affected an arrest and, as required by state law, transported the suspect to the Okmulgee County Jail for booking and processing.
Today, we are releasing bodycam video captured by Lighthorse Offices in the jail facility. In it you can clearly see jail officials belligerently refuse to accept a duly arrested suspect, threaten to fabricate charges against Lighthorse officers and of course the unprovoked assault on Deputy Chief Norcross.
The video shows, Matthew J. Douglas, a jail official, telling Lighthorse Police Deputy Chief Dennis Northcross that is was the jail's policy to not accept any suspects from Lighthorse Police. Later, you can hear jail staff say that they did not recognize Lighthorse as "real police."
Lighthorse Officers informed Mr. Douglas that it is a violation of state law for Okmulgee County Jail to refuse acceptance of any lawfully arrested person.
After much debate, Mr. Douglas threatened to fabricate charges for illegally bringing a weapon into the jail and arrest Lighthorse Police officers accountable for the environment of lawlessness they are creating.
None of these people are above the law.
Sheriff Rice
On Monday, December 18, 2023, the Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office received a call for assistance at the Okmulgee County Jail.
The Okmulgee County Jail has its own administration and is overseen by the Okmulgee County Criminal Justice Authority. Upon arrival at the jail, there were 15-20 Muskogee Creek Nation Lighthorse tribal police present.
Tribal patrol units had blocked the roadways around the jail and parked tribal units, so they blocked on-duty OCSO patrol units in their parking spots, preventing them from responding to emergency calls. The call for assistance at the jail was related to an incident that occurred inside the jail between CNLH tribal police officers and jail staff. This situation was calmed, and CNLH tribal police left the grounds and the prisoner being presented was accepted after all proper booking procedures were completed.
On Tuesday evening at approx. 5 pm, Sheriff Rice learned that CNLH tribal police were at the Okmulgee County Jail with a TRIBAL arrest warrant for a NON-TRIBAL OCCJA Detention Officer who was involved in the altercation the previous day.
There were several phone conversations made by legal experts related to the issuance of this Tribal arrest warrant for a non-tribal citizen and the CNLH was denied entry into the jail by OCCJA staff. Three OCSO deputies were at their office located in the same building as the jail and observed several CNLH units circling the block and parked at the Okmulgee Library.
OCSO deputies were instructed to stay inside their office and absolutely no interactions took place between the two law enforcement agencies.
Sheriff Rice maintains his deputies have been positive and professional during these above-mentioned situations. NO OKMULGEE COUNTY DEPUTIES have been arrested, and CNLH has not attempted to arrest any OKMULGEE COUNTY DEPUTY.
Despite misinformation provided by the media, there have been no instances of deputies and/or tribal police pointing firearms at each other. Sheriff Rice also reminds the public that even under the McGirt ruling, the OCSO has continued to provide services to the tribal citizens of this county.
The OCSO routinely takes reports from tribal victims and investigates those cases until completion or unless a tribal suspect is generated, then the report is turned over to CNLH for further investigation. Sheriff Rice is proud of the job his deputies are doing in the field and the misinformation related to this incident is uncalled for and out of hand.Show more

Muscogee Creek Nation claims that a jailer at Okmulgee County Jail violated state law by refusing to work with Lighthorse Police officers and assaulting the Lighthorse Deputy Chief during an incident on Monday.

The dispute seems to stem from an incident on Monday between a Lighthorse officer and an Okmulgee jailer over whether a non-native suspect could be booked into the jail by tribal law enforcement. Muscogee Nation tells us, that during that incident a jailer assaulted the Lighthorse Deputy Chief, Dennis Northcross.

A tribal arrest warrant was issued for the jailer Matthew J. Douglas, and Lighthorse Police attempted to serve that warrant at the jail Wednesday afternoon but were denied entry into the jail by Okmulgee County Criminal Justice Authority staff, according to the Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office.