STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Rep. Albert Hale,
D-St. Michaels (District 7), and former United States Attorney Troy Eid released
these statements after the U.S.
Justice Department announced it will further investigate the fatal
officer-involved shooting of Loreal Tsingine, a 27-year-old Navajo woman.
Recently, Maricopa County prosecutors decided not to file charges against the
Winslow police officer.
Hale
said:
“While I am grateful
to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for their work on the initial
investigation into this incident, I joined Navajo Nation community leaders in
calling for an outside investigation. Former U.S. Attorney Eid and I called for
an independent investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice when this tragic
event first came to light. I am pleased that the Department of Justice has
agreed to review this matter. It is a welcome next step and necessary in finding
the answers to lingering questions that are persisting in our community.
“Ultimately, Winslow
police officers and Navajo Nation police officers in Winslow should be
cross-deputized to provide better awareness of Native people and nations. It is
my understanding that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Navajo Nation
Department of Justice already have an agreement in place to provide this kind of
training. This should begin immediately. We must focus on solutions that prevent
violence and bring our communities together.”
Eid added the
following:
“As Rep. Hale and I
said back in April, a federal civil rights investigation by the Justice
Department is warranted, given this tragedy. This is also an opportunity to
strengthen how the Winslow Police Department serves the needs of all its
citizens, including the Dine’ and other Native Americans.”
A link to articles
featuring more information about the shooting of Loreal Tsingine is available
here, https://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/justice-department-investigating-fatal-police-shooting-of-loreal-tsingine/.
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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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