Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Russell Charette
Age : 30
Gender : Male
Race : Native American
Date : 04/24/2024
Location : Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation
City : Belcourt
County : Rolette
State : North Dakota
Agency : Turtle Mountain Tribal Police operating under Bureau of Indian Affairs contract
Officer(s) :Unknown
Cause of Death : Vehicle
Event : Driver killed by police chase crash
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 04/24/2024, law enforcement from the Turtle Mountain Tribal Police engaged in a vehicle pursuit on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Rolette County. Russell Charette was a passenger in the vehicle being pursued. According to a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court under the Federal Tort Claims Act, Charette exited or fell from the moving vehicle during the chase and came to rest on or near the roadway. The lawsuit alleges that the tribal police officer continued the pursuit with severely limited visibility due to a dust cloud on the gravel road and drove a patrol vehicle directly into the area where Charette was located, striking him. Charette was transported to Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Health Care Facility in Belcourt, where he later died from his injuries. The complaint argues that the officer violated Bureau of Indian Affairs pursuit policy by continuing the chase under conditions that posed excessive risk to public safety. The family is seeking damages related to the death.
