The Pauls Valley Police Department’s investigative team is celebrating a new commission.
Assistant Chief Derrick Jolley, Lt. Ken Ferris and Sgt. Cricket Warren were sworn in as Special Deputy United States Marshals Sept. 2. All three investigators are members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Investigative Division Task Force operating in the Western District of Oklahoma.
The team underwent hours of online training, firearms qualifications and major background checks and investigations to receive the commission, according to Pauls Valley Police Chief Mitch McGill.
The cross-commission allows the officers to conduct and participate in major crime investigations involving Native Americans.
“Basically it gives us the ability to investigate and prosecute Title 18 crimes committed on Indian land and allows us to assist the FBI in any major crimes that involve Indians,” McGill said.
Title 18 crimes include murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, maiming, incest, assault of a child under 16 years old, felony child abuse or neglect, arson, burglary and robbery.
“These are major felonies that we would otherwise not be able to assist in or file charges because we do not have jurisdiction,” McGill said. “They would have to go to Federal Court due to the McGirt ruling.”
The July 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma and subsequent state appeals court rulings held that certain Oklahoma tribal reservations were never disestablished by Congress, including the Chickasaw Nation reservation which encompasses Garvin County. Crimes involving Native Americans on reservation land fall under the jurisdiction of tribal or federal courts, rather than state courts.