CROSS-DEPUTIZATON AGREEMENT 

AMONG CHOCTAW COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, 

THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, AND 

THE CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA 

This agreement is entered pursuant to the authority of the Indian Law Enforcement 

Reform Act, 25 U.S.C. Section 2801, et. seq, the Oklahoma State Tribal Relations Act, 74 O.S. 

§§ 1221, et seq., and the Oklahoma Interlocal Cooperation Act, 74 O.S. Sections 1001, et seq. 

which provide for cooperative agreements to promote better law enforcement services. 

The intent of this Agreement is to provide for the cross-deputization of law enforcement 

officers employed by the various agencies which are parties to this Agreement so that each 

agency’s officers will be authorized to provide law enforcement services and make lawful arrests 

in Indian Country within the geographic area of Choctaw County, Oklahoma. It is the express 

desire and intent of all parties to this Agreement to allow law enforcement officers to react 

immediately to observed violations of the law and other emergency situations without regard to 

whether they occur on or off Indian lands. 

All the parties to this Agreement recognize that when law enforcement officers arrest a 

criminal suspect, the officers may not know whether the suspect or the victim is a Indian or 

whether the arrest or the suspected crime has occurred in Indian Country, as defined by 18 

U.S.C. Section 1151, and, therefore, there is great difficulty in determining the proper 

jurisdiction for the filing of charges. It is further recognized that the official jurisdictional 

determination will be made by a prosecutor from one of the various jurisdictions, not by crossdeputized arresting officers who may deliver the arrestees to the detention facilities of the 

various agencies which are parties to this Agreement. 

The parties further expressly recognize the manifest intent of the Indian Law 

Enforcement Reform Act to eliminate the uncertainties which previously resulted in the 

reluctance of various law enforcement agencies to provide services in Indian Country for fear of 

being subjected to tort and civil rights suits as a consequence of the good-faith errors of officers 

making arrests or quelling disturbances in Indian Country. To eliminate such concerns, the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, to the maximum extent possible under applicable law, commits that if a 

state, local or tribal officer holding a BIA Deputy Special Officer (DSO) commission makes a 

good-faith arrest of an Indian and delivers the arrestee to a detention facility or to a prosecutor of 

the wrong jurisdiction through good-faith error, and is later sued in his personal capacity in an 

action predicated upon the plaintiff’s Indian descent, his arrest in Indian Country, and his 

delivery to the wrong jurisdiction, it will be the policy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide 

such an officer with the same protections that would have been made available to a BIA law 
 

 

 

enforcement officer acting under like circumstances. Those protections shall include those 

provided by the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. Section 2401, 2671-2680, as amended. 

The parties to this Agreement, therefore agree as follows: 

1. Duration 

This Agreement shall be in effect for a period of one year from and after its approval. It 

shall continue in effect from year to year, unless any party gives written notice of intent not to 

renew at least thirty days prior to the expiration in any given year, or unless sooner terminated by 

the thirty day termination period. 

Any party to this Agreement may terminate this Agreement by giving thirty days written 

notice of termination to all other parties setting out the effective date of termination. 

2. Organization 

No separate legal or administrative entity is to be created hereby. 

3. Purpose 

The purpose of this Agreement is to provide for efficient, effective, and cooperative law 

enforcement efforts in and around Indian Country in Choctaw County, Oklahoma, and its terms 

should be interpreted in that spirit. Accordingly, all parties to this Agreement shall cooperate 

with each other to provide comprehensive and thorough law enforcement protection, including 

but not limited to, effecting arrests, responding to calls for assistance from all citizens and from 

other law enforcement officers, performing investigations and providing other assistance such as 

dispatching and detention in Choctaw County, Oklahoma. 

4. Financing 

Activities of each of the respective parties will be financed by each of the respective 

parties except as expressly provided herein. 

5. Termination 

This Agreement may be terminated as provided in Paragraph 1, above. 

6. Administration 

The provisions of the Agreement shall be administered by a board comprised of the 

Superintendent, Talihina Agency, BIA, Talihina, Oklahoma, and the Sheriff of Choctaw County, 

Oklahoma and the Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. 
 

 

 

 

 

7. Property 

No real or personal property is to be acquired or held under this Agreement. When 

personal property is loaned from one party to another it shall be returned as soon as possible 

upon request of the owner-party. 

8. Commissions 

A. Each agency who is a party to this Agreement may, in its discretion, issue special 

law enforcement commissions to law enforcement officers or other agencies which are 

parties to this Agreement upon the application for such by an agency party. Except that 

the Secretary may not use the personnel of a non-Federal agency in an area of Indian 

Country if the Indian tribe having jurisdiction over such area of Indian Country has 

adopted a resolution objecting to the use of the personnel of such agency. Such 

commissions shall grant the officers the same law enforcement authority as that of 

officers of the commissioning agency unless specifically limited by the terms of the 

commission. When an agency issues such a commission, it shall provide notice of that 

commission, including the name of the officer receiving the commission, to each of the 

other agencies who are parties to this Agreement. 

B. A commission shall not be granted unless an officer has complied with all the 

prerequisites for appointment as a police officer as set forth in 70 O.S. Section 3311, or 

68 BIA Manual Section 9.1, et. seq., and with the specific requirements of the 

commissioning agency. Those prerequisites must include the following: 

(1) United States Citizenship; 

(2) A High School Diploma or Equivalent; 

(3) No Conviction for a Felony or Other Crime Involving Moral Turpitude; 

(4) Documentation of Annual Weapons Qualifications; 

(5) A Finding that the Applicant is Free of Any Physical, Emotional, or 

Mental Condition Which Might Adversely Effect His or Her performance 

as a Police Officer. 

C. If requested by a commissioning agency, the applicant’s agency shall provide a 

National Crime Information Center background check on the applicant. 

D. A commissioning agency may, at any time, suspend or revoke an officer’s 

commission for reasons solely within its discretion. A commissioning agency shall notify 

the officer’s agency in writing of the suspension or revocation and the reasons therefor. 

Within ten (10) days after such notification that agency shall cause the commission card 

and any other evidence of the commission to be returned to the commissioning agency. 
 

 

9. Scope of Powers Granted 

A. Officers carrying DSO commissions issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

pursuant to this Agreement are given the power to enforce (i) all federal criminal laws 

applicable to Indian Country, including the Major Crimes Act , 18 U.S.C. Section 1153, 

and the Code of Indian Tribal Offenses in 25 CFR Part 11, where applicable, and (ii) 

Choctaw Nation tribal laws, where the Choctaw Nation has authorized the Secretary of 

the Interior to enforce such laws, and to make other arrests on Indian Land for criminal 

offenses where applicable. 

B. Officers carrying commissions issued by a state agency, a sheriff's department, or 

a city police department are given the authority to enforce Oklahoma state criminal laws 

and city ordinances, where applicable. 

C. The parties to this Agreement note that the applicability of Federal and tribal laws 

in Indian Country may depend on whether the suspect or victim is Indian and that state 

laws have been held generally to be inapplicable to Indians in Indian Country; and the 

parties agree that nothing in this Agreement makes any law applicable to a certain person 

or certain conduct where it would not otherwise be applicable. Accordingly, the purpose 

of this Agreement is to provide cross-deputized officers with the authority to enforce 

applicable law only. 

D. Nothing in this Agreement alters or conveys any judicial jurisdiction, including 

the authority to issue warrants for arrest or search and seizure or to issue service of 

process. Similarly, nothing in this Agreement is intended to impair, limit, or affect the 

status of ay agency or the sovereignty of any government. 

10. Disposition and Custody 

A. Any person arrested by an Officer commissioned pursuant to this Agreement shall 

be turned over to a responsible official of the proper jurisdiction. In order to ascertain the 

proper prosecuting jurisdiction, the officer shall ask the arrestee, where practicable, 

whether he or she is Indian or non-Indian and shall rely on that representation. 

B. The prisoner shall be taken before a judge of the appropriate jurisdiction for initial 

appearance, bond setting, and probable cause hearing within forty-eight hours from the 

time of arrest. 
 

 

 

 

C. Whenever feasible and practicable all medical and dental needs of Indian prisoners 

shall be provided by an Indian Health Service (IHS) facility or by tribal health care 

facilities. A listing of those facilities appears below. Choctaw County shall promptly notify 

the tribal police of such needs, to afford the opportunity to arrange for the treatment and 

the transport to treatment or to otherwise advise Choctaw County on action to be taken. In 

cases of extreme emergency where it is not feasible or practicable to seek tribal police 

advice in advance, Choctaw County may obtain such care for prisoners at local, federal or 

state facilities as emergency needs dictate. In such instances, the care provider should be 

advised to contact the nearest IHS facility for further instructions and for claims advice 

within 72 hours of the first furnishing or care or treatment. Choctaw County shall promptly 

notify the tribal police of actions taken when such emergency circumstances occur. If for 

some reason IHS refuses to pay for such emergency medical care, the Tribe will take all 

appropriate and lawful action so that the burden of payment will not fall upon Choctaw 

County. 

A listing of Indian Health Service and Indian tribal health care facilities in eastern 

Oklahoma follows: 

Carl Albert Indian Hospital Ada (405) 436-3980+ 

Chickasaw Nation Health Clinic Ardmore (405) 226-8181* 

Chickasaw Nation Health Care Center Tishomingo (405) 371-2392* 

Claremore Indian Hospital Claremore (918) 341-8430+ 

Sam Hider Jay Community Clinic Jay (918) 253-4271* 

PHS Indian Health Center Miami (918) 542-1655 

Okemah Indian Health Center Okemah (918) 623-0555+* 

Salina Community Clinic Salina (918) 434-5397* 

Sapulpa Health Center/ 

 Creek Nation of Oklahoma Sapulpa (918) 224-9310* 

W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital Tahlequah (918) 458-3100+ 

Eufaula Health Center/ 

Creek Nation of Oklahoma Eufaula (918) 689-2457* 

Cherokee Nation Health Clinic Sallisaw (918) 775-9159* 

Cherokee Nation Health Clinic Stilwell (918) 696-6911* 

Choctaw Nation Health Services 

 Authority Talihina (918) 567-2211+* 

Choctaw Nation Health Center Broken Bow (405) 584-2740* 

Hugo Health Center Hugo (405) 326-7561* 

McAlester Health Center McAlester (918) 423-8440* 

PHS Indian Health Center Wewoka (405) 257-6281 

Lawton Indian Hospital Lawton (405) 353-0350+ 

+ Open 24 hours, 7 days per week 
 

 

 

 

 

 

* A tribally operated facility 

IHS personnel shall be permitted to visit tribal prisoners as frequently as necessary to 

ensure that medical care including medication is being provided to the prisoner and that 

all available health services for which the prisoner is eligible are being utilized. 

11. Detention, Travel and Expenses 

A. If Indian prisoners are detained in the Choctaw County jail, they shall be detained 

in accordance with Oklahoma laws, rules, regulations and jail standards applicable to jails 

in the State of Oklahoma. The Sheriff or Chief of Police, pursuant to Oklahoma law, shall 

continue to exercise exclusive control of the operation of local jails. 

B. All travel and transportation of prisoners necessary for court appearances in 

Federal or CFR Courts and all necessary transportation of prisoners for health care except 

local emergency health care, shall be performed by the tribal police. 

Any necessary travel performed by the Choctaw County personnel in court 

attendances may be reimbursed to the Choctaw County by the Tribe at the rate provided 

by the Oklahoma State Travel Reimbursement Act (74 O.S. 500.2 et seq.) upon the filing 

of an appropriate claim with the Tribe. Reimbursement shall be subject to the Tribe's 

approval and further subject to the availability of funds for such purposes. 

C. In the event it becomes necessary to provide guard security for an Indian prisoner 

at a health facility or any place other than the Choctaw County jail, it shall be the 

responsibility of the Tribe to provide such service. 

D. In the event an emergency mental or psychiatric situation arises with an Indian 

prisoner, it shall be the responsibility of the Tribe to immediately take custody of said 

prisoner for appropriate action pursuant to applicable law. 

E. In the event of a major crime investigation on Indian land participated in by the 

Choctaw County personnel, all items of evidence shall be turned over to BIA officers 

who shall be responsible for it and for any expert tests or analyses to be performed. 

12. Supervision 

It is understood and agreed by the parties to this Agreement that the respective agencies, 

their agents, employees and insurers, have no authority nor any right whatsoever to 

control in any manner the day-to-day discharge of the duties of officers who have been 

commissioned pursuant to this Agreement. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

13. Liabilities and Immunities 

A. It is understood and agreed that each agency which is a party to this Agreement, 

its agents, employees and insurers, do not, by virtue of this Agreement, assume any 

responsibility or liability for the actions of officers commissioned pursuant to this 

Agreement which are performed outside the scope of their duties. 

B. Notwithstanding Subsection A, any officer carrying a DSO performing any act 

within Indian Country will be afforded the protection of the Federal Tort Claims Act 

while acting within the scope of his employment as a Federal officer pursuant to the 

provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act and pursuant to the provisions of the Indian 

Law Enforcement Reform Act, 25 U.S.C. § 2804 (f). 

C. Nothing in this Agreement shall be read as waiving or limiting any defenses to 

claims of liability otherwise available to law enforcement officers, such as the defense of 

qualified immunity. 

D. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as a waiver of any government's 

sovereign immunity, not otherwise expressly waived by legislative act. 

14. Additional Parties 

It is understood by the parties to this Agreement that additional agencies with law 

enforcement responsibilities may choose to join as parties hereto but that no amendment 

will he made to the terms of this Agreement without the agreement of all the parties 

signatory to it. 

15. Approval 

This Agreement shall be effective when approved by the Attorney General as provided in 

74 O.S. § 1004(f), when approved by the Governor and by the State Tribal Relations 

Committee as provided in 74 O.S. § 1221 et seq., when signed by authorized officials of 

the Tribe's governing body, when signed by authorized officials of Choctaw County, 

Oklahoma, when signed by the Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs and when filed of 

record as provided by 74 O.S. § 1001 et seq. Copies of the resolutions of the governing 

body of the Choctaw County authorizing entry into this Agreement is attached to this 

Agreement. 

16. Indian Country Identification 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Tribe shall prepare and furnish to Choctaw County, 

Oklahoma, a map and legal descriptions of all known Indian land within Choctaw 

County, Oklahoma. 
17. Laws Applicable to Indian Country 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs shall provide Choctaw County, Oklahoma, with an officer’s 

manual containing all laws to be enforced on Indian land including tribal laws. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approved as to proper form and compatibility with the laws of the State of Oklahoma. 

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________________________________________________ ________________________________ 

ATTORNEY GENERAL, STATE OF OKLAHOMA DATE 

ATTEST: 

SECRETARY OF STATE/DATE 

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________________________________________________ 

GOVERNOR, STATE OF OKLAHOMA DATE 

CHAIRMAN, JOINT COMMITTEE ON STATE-TRIBAL 

RELATIONS, STATE OF OKLAHOMA 

DATE 

APPROVED: 

SHERIFF, CHOCTAW COUNTY, OKLAHOMA DATE 

CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, 

CHOCTAW COUNTY, OKLAHOMA 

DATE 

CHIEF, CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA DATE 

AREA DIRECTOR, MUSKOGEE AREA OFFICE, 

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS 

DATE 

APPROVED AS TO PROPER FORM AND LEGAL SUFFICIENCY: 

REGIONAL SOLICITOR 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

DATE