MCCURTAIN COUNTY, Okla. — Three years after Bobby Barrick died after an incident that involved being hogtied in McCurtain County, a federal judge is dismissing the case, while admitting the case may have “far-reaching implications for tribal citizens.”
The lawsuit was filed by Tulsa-based attorney Mitchell Garrett on behalf of Bobby’s wife, Barbara Barrick.
Body camera footage obtained by 2 News shows Barrick hogtied by a group of contractors outside of a convenience store on March 13, 2022. Officers were called to the scene after receiving reports of some type of altercation inside the store.
WATCH: 2 News Oklahoma's coverage of the case:
The suit claimed that when officers arrived, they used unreasonable force that resulted in his death. It was filed against McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office Deputies’ Matt Kasbaum, Quentin Lee and Kevin Story, as well as Oklahoma Game Warden and Choctaw Nation Tribal Police Officer Mark Hannah.
Barrick was a member of the Choctaw Nation.
WATCH: 2 News Oklahoma talked to the family when the lawsuit was announced:
In a report and recommendation filed July 9, the judge found that, because the law enforcement officers were cross-deputized through the Choctaw Nation Police Force, they were acting under tribal law, not state law. The judge wrote that Choctaw Nation tribal law does not afford the same civil rights protections for its members when it comes to suing an authority figure, such as a police officer.
“Despite the uniforms they were wearing, the law is clear that any law enforcement authority over Barrick on reservation land is derived from the Choctaw Nation, not the State of Oklahoma,” United States Magistrate Judge Gerald Jackson wrote.
“The undersigned Magistrate Judge is acutely aware that the above findings may have far-reaching implications for tribal citizens in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, every square inch of which continues to be reservation land. The correct legal conclusion here carries the implication that tribal members in the Eastern District of Oklahoma have fewer constitutional civil rights protections than non-tribal members, and leaves no check on the actions of cross-commissioned state officers who encounter tribal members,” he also wrote.
Attorneys have 14 days to file any objections to the recommendation.
This is a developing story. 2 News is reaching out to the parties involved.
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