The Chippewa Cree tribal officers accused of breaking into and entering a Box Elder home and beating one of the occupants are on their way to trial.
Officers Cody LaMere and Lt. Kyle Lafromboise were each charged with assault and battery. LaMere was also charged with breaking and entering. They have pleaded not guilty and are on their way to trial.
A tribal court clerk told the Herald that the presiding judge, Andrew Huff, will withhold any additional information on the cases.
“Any further information will not be released to the press at this time, as the cases are pending trial. Any news stories may taint the jury. Once jury trial is done, results may be released.”
Since the charges were filed last April and May, LaMere and Lafromboise were suspended from the police force.
The Chippewa Cree Tribal Police Department was conducting a criminal investigation on the officers, Nedra Darling, public affairs director for the Department of the Interior Indian Affairs, has told the Herald, adding that the Bureau of Indian Affairs OJS Internal Affairs Division will be conducting an administrative investigation once tribal police complete their investigations.
In a more recent conversation with the Herald, Rocky Boy Police Chief Larry Bernard said he too is waiting for some answers.
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Chippewa Cree Tribal Court documents accuse LaMere and Lafromboise of illegally entering a Box Elder residence at 4 a.m. on April 22 by using a card to unlock the back door.
They found two people sleeping inside, a man and a woman. LaMere and Lafromboise punched and kicked the man, court documents say.
Later that day, Chippewa Cree Police received a call about a possible domestic violence incident.
Officers responded to a Laredo Road residence and found Lafromboise with the woman who had been in the house where the man was attacked earlier. Lafromboise and the woman have a child together and had been in a relationship, court documents say.
Lafromboise had hit the woman in the face, causing swelling, bruising and a swollen eye, according to the allegations.
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