On August 4th, rangers were dispatched to the nearby town of Interior to investigate a disturbance and possible assault at the Horseshoe Bar. Rangers, supported by several BIA officers who’s been detailed to the park to strengthen protection efforts during this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, quickly responded. They found that an altercation had occurred between the bar’s proprietor and his girlfriend. Both appeared to be intoxicated; each made allegations about the other’s conduct. In an effort to reduce tensions and prevent further injuries, efforts were begun to get the woman to family members on the Pine Ridge reservation. When she found that she wasn’t going to be arrested, she invited rangers into the residence she shared with the bar’s proprietor next door and showed them a shotgun hidden behind the couch. She told rangers that it belonged to the proprietor, who is known to rangers and local law enforcement officers as a convicted felon who’d been jailed for selling narcotics. The woman then gave rangers details on how the proprietor was buying firearms at the bar in exchange for alcohol, and said that he kept a semi-automatic handgun under the bar. The ranger seized the shotgun and arrested the proprietor. State law enforcement authorities were summoned and the bar was secured in order to assure officer safety. As they waited for police to arrive, the woman continued to provide details on the proprietor’s pawn operation until she suddenly became unconscious and fell across the backseat of the patrol vehicle. The rangers provided medical assistance, inserted an airway, and called for an ambulance. When the state officers arrived, a search of the bar was conducted and about ten firearms were seized. The proprietor was transferred to state officers. The woman remained unconscious and unresponsive for nearly 20 minutes. She was taken to a hospital and released the next morning.
