Officer Involved Shooting shakes Gila River Indian Community

Press Release

Communications & Public Affairs Office

A Gila River Police Department (GRPD) officer and a 22-year-old Community member were killed on Saturday, June 1, after gunfire erupted outside a dance at a home in Santan, District 4. A second police officer and three Community members were wounded in the early morning incident, according to police.

Gila River Public Safety Dispatch received a call reporting a disturbance at about 2 a.m. Saturday, according to GRPD. As the responding officers worked to calm the disturbance, which involved a large crowd, multiple gunshots were fired. Six people were struck by gunfire, with two of the wounded succumbing to their injuries.

Officer Joshua Briese, 23, became the first sworn GRPD officer killed in the line of the duty, according to the department. Briese had been with GRPD less than a year and was still completing field training.

Alicen Apkaw, 22, a Community member and an employee of the Gila River Resorts & Casinos – Santan Mountain, also died after being shot.

“I know I speak for our entire Community when I say that we grieve for our fallen and injured police officers and every Community member touched by such tragic violence,” said Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis. “Nothing cuts deeper than a life cut short. We will pray for our officers and their families, and for every Community member, every loved one, and every family impacted by what happened.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the GRPD are conducting a joint investigation, according to their statements. The FBI announced on June 2 that two subjects had been arrested in connection with the shootings. The names of the suspects have not been released.

“One is an adult and the other is a juvenile,” the FBI statement explained. “Both are males and both are receiving medical care from injuries they received during yesterday’s shooting.”

Within hours of the shooting, the Gila River Community Council met in a special meeting, voting 17-0 to declare a moratorium on all permitted and non-permitted dances within the Community. Violators will be subject to a fine of up to $5,000 for dances that do not result in bodily injury and up to $10,000 for violations that result in bodily injury. Violators may also face criminal trespass charges, the loss of their residence, and the loss of their lease and Residential Housing Improvement Program housing.

Officer Briese was the son of a Yellowstone County, Montana, deputy sheriff, David Briese. On November 3, 2006, David Briese was killed in a car crash outside Billings on his way to back-up another deputy handling a DUI suspect, according to Yellowstone County officials. Joshua Briese was six years old at the time.

“All we can say is God Speed and rest easy,” the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Knowing Dave and Josh are together again, both left this world serving their community and doing what they loved.”

At press time, the injured GRPD officer’s name had not been released. The officer was listed in serious but stable condition after surgery for his injuries, according to GRPD. The names and conditions of the injured Community members have not been released.

In previous years, two Community members who worked in law enforcement – Sgt. Kevin Lewis with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Armando Reyes, Jr., a GRPD recruit – lost their lives while on the job. Lewis died in a drowning incident in 1993. Reyes suffered cardiac arrest in 2007, while he was in the police academy.

Gov. Lewis spent time with Alicen Apkaw’s family at the hospital and spoke to them again by phone.

“From all I have learned about Alicen since her death, she was a beloved daughter and sister, a loyal friend and co-worker, fast to laugh, hard-working, joyous and supportive,” said Gov. Lewis. “To lose a young woman like Alicen, in the prime of her life, is a loss I can only describe as devastating.”

With the story making national headlines, Gov. Lewis also thanked the many leaders and individuals who reached out to the Community in the wake of the shootings.

“Our Community government has come together to begin to craft a path forward and has already taken steps to protect public safety here on Community land,” said Gov. Lewis. “In the meantime, we will be limiting our public engagement on the matter out of respect for our bereaved families and for the investigation that is in progress. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.”