Dozens protest SFPD use of force in Daniel Bettelyoun arrest

Supporters of Daniel Bettelyoun, a 44-year-old Oglala Lakota man seen in a video depicting his arrest by officers with the Sioux Falls Police Department, organized a peaceful protest against the use of force by officers involved in the incident.

About 100 people, including representatives from multiple Indigenous groups, like the American Indian Movement; Minneapolis-based Indigenous Protector Movement; and TiWakan, a Sioux Falls non-profit, joined Bettelyoun's family in a "March for Justice" protest 2 p.m. Friday at the Pioneer Memorial and Amidan Affair sign.

The video, taken by a family member of Bettelyoun, begins with two Sioux Falls officers on top of Bettelyoun during his arrest, which took place March 25. One officer is seen apparently attempting to strike Bettelyoun. Another officer then deploys a Taser device on Bettelyoun. At least four other officers are seen in the video assisting in the arrest. The officers' names have not been released and the video alleges his arm was broken.

The dozens of demonstrators from Sioux Falls, South Dakota's Native American reservations and other states lined up near the Pioneers Memorial, a stone obelisk honoring early white settlers. Next to the landmark is a historical marker memorializing the "Amidon Affair," in which Judge Joseph B. Amidon and his son William, both Minnehaha County pioneers, were killed near the start of the 1862 Dakota War, a short conflict perpetrated by unjust government treatment of Native Americans.

Allison Renville, a city council candidate in Tuesday's election, helped organize and led the protest, walking about 20 yards ahead the main group of Bettelyoun's supporters.

Two trucks, one of which was carrying a drum circle group in its truck bed, served as the head of the protest group. Attendees started at the Pioneers Memorial and paused at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, where protesters gathered to speak before continuing the march to the city's Law Enforcement Center in downtown Sioux Falls.

Midway through the protest, however, officers with the Sioux Falls Police Department blocked vehicles involved in the march at the North Drive bridge, northeast of the state penitentiary. This led to a scene between the protesters, who demanded officers let their vehicles through. Police, however, stated the "participants went outside of the scope of the issued permit" in a press release after the march.

Renville met with police near the stopped while protestors waited at the other end of the bridge.

“Police are being dramatic," Renville told the Argus Leader amid the discussions with police. "I actually expected this.”

She described police blocking the road as “theatrics” by the department.

Sgt. Cody Schulz, who was on scene, said the permit for the protest obtained by the group noted "no vehicles allowed." Schulz cited safety as a concern if vehicles were included in the procession, adding officers wanted to avoid any injuries that could occur.

Asked about the permit details, Renville said she was only told vehicles could not lead the march.

Renville explained the trucks were brought to transport Indigenous elders, some of whom were part of the drum circle. Some of the elders had a variety of health issues, which made the decision to bring the trucks necessary, she said.

The truck passengers eventually exited the vehicles as the group prepared to continue the protest on foot, at the request of police. Before the groups split, Renville told protesters to turn their phones toward the police and film them.

Bettelyoun's family members joined in the march, including his mother, Lolita Martinez-Alvarez, who witnessed her son's arrest. The arrest was "tough on her," said Kelsie Whiting, Bettelyoun's cousin, who spoke to the Argus Leader on his mother's behalf.

Protesters later convened at the Law Enforcement Center.

Though the protest was planned in advance, it came on the heels of a police shooting Thursday near the Cayman Court Assisted Living Facility, where two Sioux Falls officers, while assisting Minnehaha County deputies on a call, shot a white man police said approached officers while brandishing two knives.

The two officers who fired their weapons are on administrative leave.

More: Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum addresses Thursday's officer-involved shooting

Neil Jeske, also a candidate for city council, was also at the demonstration. Between Bettelyoun's arrest and Thursday's police shooting, he said he was concerned about recent uses of force by law enforcement.

“We need to see the body camera footage. We need to see all sides of this," Jeske said.

Whiting said the family is requesting a thorough investigation of what happened, and she hopes the protest brings light to other incidents involving use of force.

“This is happening to people across the country every day, not just us,” Whiting said.

Whiting claimed the police were originally searching for another person at the time of Bettelyoun's arrest, though that's unconfirmed.

According to the South Dakota Unified Judicial System's record database, Bettelyoun's charges tied to the incident include felony possession of a controlled substance, as well as misdemeanor obstructing a police officer, resisting arrest, driving with a revoked license, possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in vehicle, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Sioux Falls branch announced Monday the group is launching an investigation regarding the use of force from the police officers.

Supporters of Bettelyoun also iterated a list of demands ahead of Friday's rally. According to a flyer from the Indigenous groups, this includes:

• "The immediate suspension without pay of the officers who attack Daniel Bettelyoun pending a 3rd party investigation"

• "A Department of Justice Investigation into Sioux Falls Police Department misconduct against the Native and Indigenous Community"

• "A hault [sic] to all colonial settler violence perpetrated by Police Departments across Turtle Island to Native, Indigenous, and BIPOC peoples"

Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum doors to the department's Law Enforcement Center, which houses both the Sioux Falls Police Department and the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office, were closed at 1 p.m. Friday in anticipation of the event.

Indigenous Protector Movement said in a Facebook post, which includes the video of Bettelyoun's arrest, the group intended to organize a caravan to bring supporters from Minneapolis to the protest.

Will protestor demands be met?

Thum said the department is "fully open" to communicating with protest organizers, adding he's already had at least one conversation.

The department often consults with the Division of Criminal Investigation in similar instances and will have DCI take a second look at this instance as his police force does its own internal review as well, Thum said. DCI, which falls under the South Dakota Attorney General's Office, often oversees internal investigations into law enforcement's use of force cases.

Asked if the department would eventually share the outcome of its findings with the public, Thum said that's not often the case, but that the department has a history of holding people accountable. Sometimes, though, the situations head to civil court to be resolved as well, and the department reminds residents that a court process is the "ultimate venue" if issues cannot be resolved, he said.

It's unclear when the internal investigation or DCI review may be complete.

As of Friday afternoon, no lawsuit had been filed involving Bettelyoun's case in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Dozens protest SFPD use of force in Daniel Bettelyoun arrest