Gun Lake Tribe’s Department of Public Safety Certified to Enforce Laws

Today the Gun Lake Tribe (Tribe) announced certification of its Department of Public Safety (police) to enforce federal, state, and tribal law, and to assist local law enforcement in the performance on their duties when needed. The Tribe’s Public Safety Director, Rick Rabenort, was the first officer to become MCOLES certified and cross-deputized by the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department.

“The Tribe places a high priority on the safety of its citizens, the local community, and guests. To that end, we hired Rick to lead the development of our public safety department and build upon its capabilities in the years to come,” said D.K. Sprague, Chairman of the Gun Lake Tribe.

The Gun Lake Tribe Department of Public Safety was acknowledged by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) with the authority to employ law enforcement officers and empower these officers to act as peace officers under state laws. This action followed the execution of a cross-deputization agreement between the Tribe and Allegan County.

Tribal police officers will have authority to enforce local, state and federal laws in the community, but have primary responsibility to enforce tribal law on tribal lands. Tribal police have jurisdiction over tribal citizens and tribal property.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the Tribe and its citizens. It is great to be part of this historic period of growth in the Gun Lake tribal community,” said Director Rabenort.

The Department of Public Safety will soon hire more officers and expand its police force. The Tribe has allocated funding to hire two additional officers that are expected to begin service in the near future.