STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Rep.
Albert Hale, D-St. Michaels (District 7), and Troy Eid, former chairman of the
Indian Law and Order Commission, recently called on United States Attorney
General Loretta E. Lynch to investigate the death of a Navajo woman, who was
allegedly shot while being taken into police custody in March.
“This is
an active investigation,” Hale said. “I want to thank the Native American
leaders who have united in calling for further investigation into this tragedy.”
According
to reports, 27-year-old Loreal Tsingine
was allegedly shot five times by a police officer as she was being taken into
custody. In a letter to Lynch, Hale and Eid wrote:
“As members of the Navajo
Nation Bar Association who have worked extensively in and around Winslow and
surrounding areas, we can attest to persistent reports by local citizens –
ranging from young people to the elderly – of unlawful police stops, use of
excessive force, and other coercive activities by the Winslow Police Department
which may constitute a pattern or practice of discrimination prohibited by
federal law. Because there is no private right of action to vindicate these
citizens’ federal civil rights through individual lawsuits, only the U.S.
Department of Justice may enforce this law and put an end to alleged systemic
police misconduct.”
“Only the
U.S. Department of Justice has the statutory authority to enforce federal civil
rights protections for Navajo and other Native American citizens when local
police departments may be engaging in systematic discrimination,” said Eid, the
former United States Attorney in Colorado appointed by President George W.
Bush. “A Justice Department investigation can help strengthen law enforcement
by addressing persistent reports of official police bias against Native
Americans in Winslow that are undermining the public confidence of all
Arizonans.”
A copy of the letter is
below.
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Rep.
Hale is an enrolled member of the
Navajo Nation. He was born in Ganado and raised in Klagetoh, Arizona. He is
Ashiihi (Salt), born for Todichiini (Bitter Water). His maternal grandparents
are Hanaghani (Walk About clan). His paternal grandparents are Kiyanii (Tall
House clan). He is a 1969 graduate of Fort Wingate High School, a Bureau of
Indian Affairs boarding school located east of Gallup, New Mexico. He holds a
Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (1973),
and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law,
Albuquerque, New Mexico (1977), and an
honorary Juris Doctor degree from Phoenix School of Law (2012). He is the
former President of the Navajo Nation.
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