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August 28, 2010: Question do SLEC's have authority off reservation

Here, Sergeant Tanakeyowma was not enforcing federal or tribal law at the time of the incident. He pursued Sanford outside the boundaries of the Gila River Indian Reservation after he observed Sanford’s erratic driving, which, as explained above, was no more than a violation of Arizona law. There is no evidence that Sergeant Tanakeyowma’s SLEC authorized him to enforce Arizona law, on or off Indian lands, and therefore no indication that he is deemed a federal employee for purposes of the FTCA while enforcing Arizona law. See Hebert, 438 F.3d at 487 (because tribal officers were not enforcing federal law, they were not acting “in accordance with any special commission to assist the Bureau of Indian Affairs with providing law enforcement services”).

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