Arizona tribe temporarily bans dances after police officer is fatally shot responding to disturbance

SANTAN, Ariz. — The Gila River Indian Community has issued a temporary ban on dancing after a tribal police officer was fatally shot and another was injured during a reported disturbance at a home in Santan, tribal officials said Sunday.

Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the tribe south of Phoenix, said a special meeting of community council leaders took place Saturday evening.

The council approved a temporary moratorium on all permitted and unauthorized dances in the community, effective immediately, along with increased penalties for trespassing and disorderly conduct, he said.

The Phoenix FBI is investigating the fatal shooting but has not released many details.

The Arizona Republic reported that the shooting occurred at a teenager’s birthday party in Santan, located in one of the tribal community’s seven districts.

Joshua Briese, who had been with the Gila River Police Department for less than a year and had not completed field training, responded to the scene around 2 a.m. Saturday along with another tribal police officer after a 911 call involving a large crowd.

Police said multiple gunshots were fired and both officers were hit, injuring four other people.

Briese was pronounced dead at a hospital and the other officer, whose name has not yet been released, is in serious but stable condition, according to police.

One of the four injured later died, police said. The names of the victims were not immediately available Sunday.

Briese, 23, was the son of a former sheriff’s deputy in Montana who also died in the line of duty.

The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that David Briese died in a car crash in November 2006.

According to news reports at the time, David Briese responded to a backup call for an officer dealing with a combative impaired driver in Billings, Montana.