BILLINGS — A prosecutor for the Crow Tribe accused a federal law enforcement officer of assault, criminal endangerment and negligent endangerment after the officer’s police dog allegedly caused extensive injuries to a suspect during a traffic stop.
A civil complaint from prosecutor David Sibley seeks to ban Bureau of Indian Affairs officer Steve Stallings from the Crow reservation in southeastern Montana over the July 20 incident.
Sibley said Thursday that he filed the complaint a day earlier in Crow Nation Tribal Court, but did not know when Stallings would be officially served with the suit.
Stallings was the handler for a dog that latched onto the leg of tribal member Harris Redstar following a traffic stop in Lodge Grass, according to the complaint.
The dog continued to hold Redstar’s leg in its jaws even after he was on the ground and in handcuffs, causing extensive injuries that required Redstar to be hospitalized, the prosecutor said.
Redstar had been in a confrontation with a second officer prior to Stallings’ arrival. He faces charges of resisting, obstructing and assaulting an officer and is due to make an initial court appearance next month, Sibley said.
Stallings could not be reached for comment. A bureau spokesperson did not have an immediate response to the allegations.