Three Colorado lawmakers, Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. John Hickenlooper and Rep. Jeff Hurd, are turning up the heat on the Department of the Interior, urging a formal review of policing across the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation after what they describe as a sharp rise in violent incidents. In a new letter, they cast the situation as both a public safety emergency and a test of the federal government’s trust responsibility to the tribe.
Writing to Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs William Kirkland, the delegation asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to carry out a 90-day analysis of law enforcement capacity on the reservation. Tribal leaders told their offices that only one BIA-assigned officer and one tribal officer are patrolling nearly 600,000 acres, serving about 2,000 tribal members over a stretch of roughly 75 miles between the police station in Towaoc and the White Mesa community in Utah, according to a press release from Sen. Bennet’s office.
Tribe says policing is stretched thin
Local reporting and tribal leaders say that while gun violence has climbed, the police presence on the reservation has thinned out. The Colorado Sun has chronicled the tribe’s struggle with frequent shootings and chronic staffing shortages, including the high-profile killing of a 24-year-old woman in August 2025.
Federal authorities have also been tied up with an earlier tragedy. Prosecutors say that on December 11, 2024, 24 rounds were fired into a home in Towaoc, killing a 7-year-old child. The shooting led to an indictment in January 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Curfew and community response
In response to the violence, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council put a nightly curfew in place in January in an effort to regain a measure of control on the streets. The curfew runs from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and allows for fines, arrests and vehicle welfare checks for those who violate the order. The Durango Herald reported that the resolution, signed January 2, applies to Towaoc and nearby reservation lands, with exceptions for emergencies and on-duty workers.
What lawmakers are asking
The Colorado lawmakers told the Department of the Interior that a 90-day review would “provide a clearer picture of the prerequisites to keeping the Reservation safe” and help tribal leadership plan for future law enforcement resources. They stressed that “it is the legal responsibility of the United States government to fulfill its trust obligations to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and protect its resources and its Tribal members,” according to Sen. Bennet’s office.
Legal fallout
The December 2024 shooting continues to move through the federal court system. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado says Jeremiah Hight has been indicted on second-degree murder and firearms charges tied to the child’s death. The U.S. Department of Justice notes that the case is being investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
What could change
Supporters of the review argue that a detailed analysis could give both tribal and federal officials the data they need to expand policing or shift resources on the ground, and to back up future funding requests. Sen. John Hickenlooper and several Senate colleagues have previously called on Congress to increase funding for tribal law enforcement programs, a push laid out in a 2024 letter to appropriators from Sen. Hickenlooper’s office aimed at helping tribes address workforce shortages and bolster public safety.
The Department of the Interior must now decide whether to launch the requested 90-day review. The lawmakers say they plan to work with tribal leaders and the agency to make sure the reservation receives the law enforcement resources it needs. For residents in Towaoc, White Mesa, and nearby Cortez, the hope is that any federal action translates into faster response times and safer neighborhoods on the reservation.
