Boy, 11, jailed and shackled even though he was victim

Tribal leaders for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe are asking state officials to investigate the handcuffing and shackling of an 11-year-old band member who was detained by police last month after he failed to appear in court to testify as a crime victim.

The boy, who had been assaulted by an older boy, was taken to Mille Lacs County jail April 10, kept overnight in a juvenile detention center and taken to the county courthouse the next morning handcuffed, shackled and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit.

Mille Lacs Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin sent a letter Wednesday to the state attorney general saying that the county's treatment of the boy is "inexcusable" and violated his civil rights.

"Was there any common sense even considered by anybody making this decision?" she asked.

Mille Lacs County Attorney Jan Kolb said it's standard for everyone taken into custody to wear hand and leg restraints and jail suits for security reasons.

Kolb said that policy was put in place by county judges in 2004 because "we had too many people getting away from the jailers as they were going back to jail."

Kolb said the courthouse is old and security is not up to date. Sometimes, she said, defendants, particularly juveniles, would flee while walking from the courthouse to the jail across the street.

"And if they were in plain clothes, they could blend in with people [after running off]," she said.

Rjay Brunkow, the band's attorney, said Wednesday that the tribe has had trouble getting information from the county about the incident because it involves a juvenile. However, he said the band has been told that the 2004 order "was the justification for the [11-year-old boy's] treatment."Even if it was a judge's order," Brunkow said, "I think some more thought should have gone into it to prevent a situation like this. And I'd be curious to see if a judge's order required handcuffs and shackles and a jumpsuit. I can see if that was for a defendant, but this particular boy was a victim of a crime."

Brunkow said the boy's parents told him that they didn't want to talk to reporters Wednesday.

September assault

According to Benjamin, Brunkow and Kolb, the 11-year-old allegedly was assaulted in September 2006 as he walked home from the Nay Ah Shing School on the Mille Lacs Reservation. Kolb said a 13-year-old boy kicked, punched and tripped the younger boy, pushing him to the ground.

Later that afternoon, the victim's mother, Kristie Davis-Deyhle, confronted the 13-year-old and a friend, and allegedly ran them off the road with her car, according to court records. She was later charged with second-degree assault, a felony.

Kolb said that over the next several months the county sent five letters to Davis-Deyhle and her son to keep them abreast of the 13-year-old's case and to tell them that a failure to appear in court could result in a warrant for their arrest. Kolb said she believes the family received the letters because none were returned. What's more, she said, the boy and his father, George Deyhle, showed up for the 13-year-old's trial in February.

When the trial was postponed, Kolb said, one of her assistants spoke with George Deyhle and told him that the family would be notified about a new trial date. Kolb said another letter was sent to the family confirming a trial date of March 29 and "reminding them they were still under the power of subpoena."

When the boy and his mother failed to appear, warrants were issued for their arrest. The trial has not been rescheduled.

Disputed subpoena

Brunkow, the band's attorney, said the family was never personally served with a subpoena nor did it receive one via certified mail. He also said George Deyhle told him that he and his son were never told they had to return to court.

Kolb said that's not true.

"It's our position they acknowledged receipt of that first subpoena by showing up at the first court date," she said.

Kolb said Davis-Deyhle was arrested in early April for failing to appear in court, but posted bail and was released.

On April 10, a day or two later, Brunkow said, the 11-year-old, who had a perfect attendance record at school, was picked up at school by a tribal police officer and transferred to the custody of Mille Lacs County, where he was handcuffed and later transferred to a juvenile safe house in St. Cloud for his protection.

The next morning, he was handcuffed, shackled, forced to wear an orange jail jumpsuit and detained in a cell for two hours before appearing in court, Benjamin said. Once there, a judge instructed him to attend future court dates, Brunkow said.

No charge was filed against the boy.

"If you've arrested the mother, and gave her notice, why then do you still need to arrest her son and hold him overnight and bring him into court shackled and handcuffed?" Brunkow asked. "It seems to be extremely heavy-handed discipline."

Kolb, the county attorney, said arrest warrants also were issued for two other witnesses to the alleged assault who did not show up for the trial.

She said the 11-year-old boy also failed to appear in court on an unrelated matter where he was victimized by another assailant.

"Our concern is that people keep not getting him to court and he keeps getting victimized," Kolb said. "At some point, we need to step in as a county and state and protect this kid."

Help like punishment

But Brunkow said the treatment in this case "seems more like punishment" and "as far from protection as you could possibly get."

Benjamin also said the boy was one of two children taken to court that day by authorities, but the only one who was handcuffed and shackled. She said a girl, who was not a band member, was not detained. "We need to find out what happened and why," she said.

Meanwhile, the Mille Lacs Band has placed the tribal police officer who arrested the 11-year-old on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

"It appears the officer did not mistreat the child and was carrying out his legal obligations to serve what he thought was a valid arrest warrant," Benjamin said in her letter.

Richard Meryhew • 612-673-4425 • richm@startribune.com