Amelia Schafer
ICT
RAPID CITY, S.D. – NDN Collective founder and CEO Nick Tilsen appeared before a South Dakota court in an evidentiary hearing on June 12 on several charges stemming from a 2022 encounter with state law enforcement.
The state of South Dakota alleges that on June 11, 2022, Tilsen, Oglala Lakota, allegedly accelerated or lurched his vehicle toward a Rapid City Police Officer in an attempt to stop police activity.
Former Rapid City Police Officer Nicholas Glass testified during the hearing that his back was turned to Tilsen’s pickup truck when he heard the vehicle begin to move toward him. The vehicle came to a stop around one to two feet from the officer.
In a statement from NDN Collective, the organization said that on that date, Tilsen was performing a routine cop watch in Rapid City and observing law enforcement interaction with a homeless man. The organization said law enforcement then turned on Tilsen and accused him of assault on law enforcement. Tilsen said he remained in his vehicle during the situation and did not exit.
Glass did not press charges until June 30, 2023, over a year after the alleged offense occurred and on the same day that NDN Collective announced it was holding a July 4 protest against police violence in Rapid City. That same day, the city and then-mayor Steve Allender issued several public safety messages discouraging the protest and warning against potential violence. The protest was ultimately peaceful.
On June 12 and 13, three years after the alleged incident, the two parties met in a packed courtroom in the Pennington County Courthouse to discuss evidence in the case, including witness testimony.
Glass testified on June 12 via Zoom that he was approached in late June 2023 and asked if he’d like to press charges against Tilsen. Glass is now a member of the United States Airforce and is stationed outside of the area so he could not appear in person.
Glass said he was approached by someone from the Pennington County States Attorney’s Office and asked about pressing charges, but he could not recall who had approached him.
Glass is Native American and was one of the few Native officers serving in the Rapid City Police Department. It’s unclear what his tribal affiliation is as the presiding judge did not allow him to answer questions on the subject.
Pennington County States Attorney Lara Roetzel, Police Chief Don Hendricks, former mayor Steve Allender, and Pennington County Sheriff Brian Muller have all been subpoenaed and will discuss evidence on June 13.
Tilsen is charged with two separate class two felony offenses: one count of obstruction of police, firefighter, or jailer and aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer. If convicted, he faces up to 26 years in prison.
In a post on Instagram and Facebook, NDN Collective said the charges were brought against Tilsen as an intimidation tactic, as he’s a local leader.
“Nick is being systematically targeted as an Indigenous movement leader,” the June 11 post said. “Local prosecutors intentionally sought out the police officer named in this case and encouraged him to press charges. The charges brought against Nick are false and inflated to criminalize, silence and ultimately isolate him from his community through imprisonment.”
In a statement, Katie Urban from the South Dakota State Attorney’s Office said these claims are untrue.
“This case, like all cases our office prosecutes, is based on the evidence and our ability to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” Urban said. “Any claim that the defendant is being targeted for who he is or the role he holds in our community is simply not true.”
Tilsen’s team has posted a petition to social media requesting the case be dismissed and are encouraging the community to reach out to the Pennington County States Attorney’s Office and request the case’s dismissal.
Tilsen has a lengthy history with law enforcement in South Dakota, specifically in Pennington County.
In 2020, Tilsen was charged with three felonies following a July 4 protest at Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills. Protestors blockaded a road to prevent President Donald Trump from accessing the site where a fireworks display was planned that night. The protest lasted three hours until law enforcement broke it up and 21 protesters were arrested. Tilsen was the only one charged with a felony.
Later that year, NDN Collective said local law enforcement threatened to revoke Tilsen’s bond after NDN Collective staff erected a tipi camp for homeless people in Rapid City. The tipi encampment was erected with permission from the Oglala, Rosebud and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes.
On Aug. 20, 2021, Tilsen confronted two Rapid City officers on NDN Collective property and demanded they leave the premises. A heated video of the encounter was posted to social media and picked up by local newstations, leading to NDN Collective issuing a statement on the matter.
On Dec. 13, 2022, Tilsen’s charges from the 2020 protest were dropped; just six months before he’d receive his current charges for the June 2022 incident.
On June 30, 2023, Tilsen was charged in the current case, which is expected to be seen by a jury trial in August.