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“Three and a half weeks after he allegedly threw beer and racial slurs at Native American children during a hockey game in rapid City, a Philip man has been charged with disorderly conduct.
But the charge isn’t satisfying many Native Americans, who say it’s too light for the serious nature of the crime.
After a 3 1/2 week investigation, authorities announced Wednesday the charge against 41-year-old Trace O’Connell of Philip. The disorderly conduct charge has a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.”
– Kelo Land, Native Americans Wanted More Than Disorderly Conduct Charge.
“The incident happened Jan. 24 at a Rapid City Rush hockey game at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. A chaperone with the school reported that the students were subjected to racial slurs and had beer sprayed on them.
“I have said many times before and since this incident that improving race relations is an ongoing endeavor, and I have appreciated the willingness and efforts of tribal officials and the support of many people, both Native and non-Native, to remain committed to that effort,” said Rapid City Mayor Sam Kooiker. “We cannot let the actions of one person derail those efforts, nor should we allow the incident to define the character, ideals and values of people in Rapid City and our region.”
The Pennington County State’s Attorney’s office said they did not find evidence to charge O’Connell with felony child abuse or malicious intimidation.
John Yellow Bird Steele, president of the Oglala Sioux tribe, said his meetings with Rapid City law enforcement led him think that stiffer charges would have been filed.
“I was waiting for a very strong charge,” he said. “I believe the charges are watered down.”
Chase Iron Eyes, a Rapid City lawyer and activist, said he, too, was not satisfied with the charge.
“We are definitely not satisfied that it took as long as it did,” Iron Eyes said. “There was no arrest yet and most woefully, the racist nature of the crime will not be reflected in proving the elements of disorderly conduct.””
– Argus Leader, Man charged in racial incident in Rapid City.
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
