Washoe tribal officials silent on departure of troubled police chief

Thursday, Oct. 9, 1997 | 10:09 a.m.

John Flynn, tribal administrator, confirmed Wednesday that Ahdunko is gone but provide no details.

Ahdunko and Tribal Chairman Brian Wallace weren't immediately available for comment.

A group of dissident tribal members, calling themselves the Washoe Peoples Reform Council, has been pressing for weeks for Ahdunko's ouster. They say excessive force used by officers in several arrests created a climate of fear throughout the reservation.

"He should have been removed long ago. That's what investigators recommended but it didn't happen when it should have," said Benny Mills, an off-reservation representative on the Tribal Council.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs completed an investigation of the tribal police department earlier this year. The inquiry focused on alleged falsification of records in an accident involving a government vehicle but also addressed the issue of excessive force.

Tribal officials followed up by ordering an independent investigation of the department.

Mills said the BIA report suggested that Ahdunko and some other officers be suspended until the situation could be resolved. He added both reports are extremely critical of the police force.

Wallace, also targeted for recall by the reform group, has said the results of the reports won't be made public.

Wallace said recently that allegations of widespread tribal corruption are false and are being spread by a "small faction of agitators" during an election year.

He also said he's confident he can withstand a recall by a wide margin if it ever comes to that.