Official from tribe in lawsuit now in jail for alcohol-related incident

Talk about it

The vice president of a South Dakota American Indian tribe suing some of the world’s largest beer makers was arrested and jailed for what police say was an alcohol-related incident on a dry reservation, but he insisted Thursday that the incident was racially motivated and that he wasn’t drinking.

Thomas Poor Bear was arrested Feb. 19 on the Pine Ridge Reservation on a charge of obstructing government function while receiving treatment at a hospital, according to a police report The Associated Press obtained from a reservation resident who had access due to his ties with the tribal government.

Police didn’t immediately return calls Thursday night from AP seeking comment about the arrest report, in which an officer said Poor Bear had “the odor of intoxicants on his breath” and bloodshot eyes.

His blood-alcohol content was listed at .306, nearly quadruple the legal limit for driving a car. Alcohol consumption is banned entirely on the Pine Ridge Reservation.