PAWNEE, Okla. – Herb Adson, a member of the Pawnee Nation with more than 15 years of experience in law enforcement, has been elected chief of police in Pawnee, Okla. Adson, the city’s Assistant Chief of Police for the past nine years, beat out incumbent candidate Jerry Roland in a close and exhilarating election. He is the first American Indian to be elected to a Pawnee city post.
Adson believes he has the Indian community to thank for his victory. An election board staff member noted that over 700 of the county’s 2,200 registered voters, or an estimated 80 percent, participated in the city election.
Pawnee Nation tribal members actively campaigned for Adson and further supported his candidacy by conducting voter registration drives. As a result, a large number of the city’s Native citizens turned out to vote for the first time. Those who could not vote because they live in tribal housing located outside the city limits, helped by erecting campaign signs all around the town.
The Pawnee Indian Agency was established in 1875 in Oklahoma, just east of the present City of Pawnee after the tribe was relocated from their traditional homeland along Nebraska’s North Platte River. The territory was opened to non-Indian settlement in 1876. The Pawnee Nation now has some 2,500 enrolled tribal members. Adson, a well-known member of the traditional Pawnee/Osage intertribal drum group, Southern Thunder says his goal as police chief, is to act as a liaison between the tribal and city governments in order to promote a closer union between the two.
Adson’s career began when he graduated from Federal Law Enforcement Academy in 1987. He was first employed by the Pawnee Nation Police Department where he worked as a tribal peace officer before completing Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) in 1990. The Oklahoma-specific CLEET academy provides 324 hours of instruction that is designed to prepare candidates for full-time city, county, or state peace officer certification. The program also provides continuing education opportunities for its graduates. To date, Adson has completed 16 CLEET courses on specific law enforcement topics, and has also served as lead investigator as well as the agency’s field training officer.
The Pawnee Police Department consists of a police chief, assistant chief, lieutenant, sergeant, and patrol officers. Assignments include investigator, field training officer, reserve coordinator, K9 unit and night supervisor. Officers patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week in their patrol area which covers approximately six square miles. The police officers have jurisdictional agreements with the Pawnee County Sheriffs Department and the Pawnee Nation Tribal Law Enforcement Agency. This allows officers to join forces in order to enforce laws and assist other departments within Pawnee County.