The top federal law enforcement official responsible for Native American lands has been reassigned amid a wide-ranging investigation into deaths and inhumane conditions in tribal detention centers, says USA Today. Robert Ecoffey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ director of enforcement operations, also oversaw management of 74 tribal prisons and jails where investigators have found decrepit conditions that may have contributed to deaths.
Officials would not discuss the move or Ecoffey’s new duties. Walter Lamar, a former FBI agent, was appointed as Ecoffey’s replacement. The FBI said it was conducting multiple investigations into deaths at Indian country detention centers. Those are separate from a review of prison conditions and fatalities by the Interior Department’s inspector general.
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-06-01-official-reassigned_x.htm