Masked RCMP storm casino

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Employees of the Bear Claw casino mistook RCMP officers for heavily-armed masked thieves when the police crashed through the casino's front doors in a pre-dawn raid March 22.

"Casino people were just closing up," Shepherd said. "They thought they were being robbed. The people were masked and did not identify themselves."

The hooded, gun-toting assembly burst into the casino at around 4 a.m. and told employees to put their hands onto tables, White Bear band chief Bernard Shepherd said.

The RCMP, dressed in full camouflage and accompanied by a SWAT team and police dogs, met no resistance from casino workers or band members, he added.

"We were co-operating with them. It was pretty quiet, but people didn't know what was going on."

Bear Claw employees were detained in the casino by the police for about an hour and a half, Shepherd said. Police told staff they were under arrest but did not read them their rights.

Some employees even asked for their rights to be read, the chief said, but the RCMP refused.

The RCMP also detained two councillors and the band's manager, who were driving to the casino, after learning of the raid.

The three were taken to the RCMP station in nearby Carlyle for "obstructing justice," but were later released, said Shepherd.

All of the casino's equipment, including an unspecified number of video lottery terminals, 100 slot machines and six black jack tables, were seized.

In a news release issued that same day, RCMP said they were holding the gaming equipment as evidence.

"The RCMP position has always been that 'at this point in time, all people in Canada are subject to the provisions of the criminal code,'" the release said.

The RCMP refused, however, to give details of the raid itself.

"Neither the tactics surrounding the execution of the search warrant, nor the number of RCMP officers involved, will be disclosed."

The prevailing mood on the reserve in the wake of the "South African-style" raid

is one of anger, Shepherd said. No one in the band will be charged but there is a sense among band members that they were betrayed.

"I was disgusted at the whole process and how the RCMP handled it. We were led to believe there was a lot of trust there. They had the responsibility to enforce our laws. We're having a problem right now making sure people don't over-react to it."

The band will re-open the casino with band-owned gaming equipment as early

as next week, Shepherd said. The casino was a source of income for the band and employment for 75 people on the reserve.

"We had expected that we would be off welfare within five years. There were spin-off jobs."

The raid came almost three weeks after the province said the White Bear band broke off negotiations.

Justice Minister Bob Mitchell said March 4 that he had been unable to negotiate

a mutually acceptable resolution with Shepherd.

"I'm disappointed the White Bear First Nation has decided not to work with the government constructively to resolve this issue," he said.

The government's offer to negotiate with the band depended upon the closure of the Bear Claw casino. Mitchell offered to run a "pilot project" with 20 provincially regulated and revenue sharing video lottery machines.

"We made an offer which laid the groundwork to reach a satisfactory solution and the White Bear First Nation decided not to continue discussions," Mitchell said.

But Shepherd said he was unaware that relations with the province had deteriorated so far that negotiating appeared over.

"We were acting in good faith," he said. "They said talks broke off Feb. 25. They then, two days later, said they didn't know who walked away."

Shepherd said he was under the impression that talks were still possible as late as March 10.

The White Bear reserve is located about 200 kliolometres southeast of Regina.