Nora Mabie
Missoulian
The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council on Monday evening charged council member Timothy Davis with three counts of misconduct reflecting on the dignity of the Blackfeet Tribe or the tribal council.
The council announced it will hold an expulsion hearing for Davis on Monday, March 27 at 9 a.m. at the chambers. At the hearing, Davis will answer questions related to his charges with all council members present.
Attempts to reach Davis for comment were unsuccessful.
A resolution from the council referenced an event last spring when the body voted unanimously to remove Davis as chairman after nine people were arrested at his home on drug-related charges. The arrests came just days after the tribe had declared a state of emergency on fentanyl and drug overdoses. After he was removed as chair, Davis continued to serve as a council member, as is customary. He is not up for reelection until 2024.
The resolution also referenced an incident on Feb. 27, saying Davis was charged in tribal court with accountability for “knowingly and/or purposely having knowledge of a crime in progress and allowing the suspect to elude.” He was also charged with threatening a public official for “knowingly and/or purposely cursing at law enforcement officers impeding them from their duties.”
Davis was again charged with accountability on March 16, according to a statement from the council, for having knowledge of several hundred fentanyl pills at his residence. A search warrant was executed, and a large amount of methamphetamine was found at his house, according to the same release. Davis was charged again with threatening a public official for telling officers that he knew of the fentanyl pills but failed to report them to law enforcement.
The council stated they met with Davis Monday morning, and though the council gave him the opportunity to resign, Davis declined to resign from his position.
The council stated that due to the nature of the allegations and drugs involved, “these matters are of grave concern regarding the leadership of the Blackfeet Tribe and the safety of the community.”
Per the Blackfeet Constitution, the council can remove a member for cause by a two-thirds vote. The constitution also states that any member of the tribe who has been convicted of a felony is “ineligible for office.”
The council recommended that Davis stay away from Blackfeet Tribal Government Offices and refrain from conducting tribal business until the expulsion hearing.
This article was first published in the Missoulian.