PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Law Enforcement

Monument staff became increasingly concerned about visitor safety as traffic increased through the monument. Driven erratically westbound through the monument in March 1964, a Wonder Bread truck jumped the curb, knocked down a "slow" sign as well as a tree, and kept on going. A report was made to the Arizona Highway Patrol. Shortly after, monument signage indicating a pedestrian crossing lane and slower speed were relocated to be more visible on the approaches to the fort.

In February 1965 Bozarth reported "a fast driving, firearm shooting black sedan driver" was stopped on State Highway 389 that passed through the monument by the sheriff and a highway patrolman. "We were advised that the driver-shooter was the repeater type," wrote Bozarth, grateful for the assistance from local law enforcement officers. [2098] Traffic continued to pose a safety problem until the new bypass road (State Highway 389) was opened during the summer of 1967 (see "Area Roads" section).

On September 19, 1966, a young, white, hitchhiking male was given food and clothing at the monument after having been beaten by some drunken Kaibab Paiute. (The victim's location at the time of the beating was not recorded; he was most likely hitchhiking through the reservation.) A Mohave County deputy sheriff tended to the legal charges.

Another serious incident occurred on the evening of June 17, 1968, when a group of adult and juvenile Kaibab Paiute from Moccasin entered the monument. The group had been drinking. During their stay, a fight broke out between two teenage boys, resulting in a stabbing of one of the boys. Geerdes and Malmquist took the injured youth to the Kanab hospital where the boy later recovered from his wounds. [2099] Ray Geerdes subsequently contacted tribal officials, BIA officials at Keams Canyon, and the Mohave County sheriff at Kingman. It quickly became apparent to Geerdes that Pipe Spring National Monument was a jurisdictional "no-man's-land." No Indian Service law enforcement officials were located in the area, tribal officials said they had no jurisdiction over events transpiring on monument grounds, and the Mohave County sheriff felt he had no jurisdiction either. [2100] During late August 1968, Geerdes made a trip to Kingman, Arizona (the Mohave County seat), to discuss law enforcement and jurisdiction matters with a judge, a county attorney, and the sheriff. Apparently, county officials saw the problem as primarily one of distance - Pipe Spring was 300 miles away from Kingman. In true Western style, they solved that problem by making Ray Geerdes a deputy sheriff! His commission was to be exercised only within the boundaries of the monument, however. In October the reservation hired a full-time Indian policeman, Bernard Lucero, who resided with his family in Fredonia.

On November 3, 1968, another incident on monument grounds involved a young Navajo man named Stan Littleman, who staff discovered entering monument buildings and cars; he was turned over to the Indian policeman, Bernard Lucero. Tried in magistrate's court in Fredonia, he was banished from the reservation for six months. [2101] On November 19 a law enforcement meeting was held at Geerdes' residence to continue the dialogue on integrating efforts, with Mohave County deputies from Moccasin, Pipe Spring, and Colorado City, Ren Brown (magistrate judge from Moccasin), Bernard Lucero, and Vernon Jake attending. As a result, Geerdes reported the situation "radically improved" with no more incidents reported over the winter of 1968-1969. [2102]

In late September 1969, Mel Heaton and Joe Bolander both attended Park Service Law Enforcement school at Bryce Canyon National Park.