Alleged "Wino Roundup" in Wolf Point triggers lawsuit

BILLINGS - Dozens of Fort Peck Indian Reservation residents are plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against local law enforcement and community leaders for the alleged unlawful arrest of homeless and intoxicated people conducted to bolster Wolf Point’s image.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls includes 31 plaintiffs who allege they were stereotyped as panhandlers, alcoholics, and homeless, and were unlawfully arrested during what is described as a “Wino Roundup.”

The alleged incidents happened in July of 2013 during the Wildhorse Stampede and Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s Rodeo, which the plaintiffs describe as “largely a white Anglo-Saxon event conducted on Indian Lands…”

http://www.krtv.com/story/32440104/alleged-wino-roundup-in-wolf-point-triggers-lawsuit