Sen. Cantwell secures $1 million to hire tribal police for Yakama Nation drug task force

According to a news release from Cantwell’s office, one of the barriers to enforcement for drug-related incidents on the Yakama Reservation is understaffing at the tribal police department.

“The fentanyl crisis is a flood of poison entering Indian Country and communities, and it is not a crisis that our Tribes can face alone,” Cantwell said. “We've heard [from] tribal leaders and their law enforcement agencies how they're chronically understaffed and under-resourced.”

This funding will help pay for nine patrol officers for a year to help ramp up enforcement efforts, according to the release.

According to the release, the success of the task force will be measured by the number of drug incidents tribal police respond to and their contributions to regional and federal enforcement efforts.

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