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

SANTAN, Ariz. (AP) — The Gila River Indian Community has issued a temporary ban on dances after a tribal police officer was fatally shot and another wounded while responding to a reported disturbance at a Santan home. Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the tribe south of Phoenix, says a special meeting of community council’s leaders was held Saturday night. They approved a temporary moratorium on all permitted and non-permitted dances in the community, effective immediately, along with enhanced penalties for trespassing and disorderly conduct. The shooting reportedly occurred at a teenager’s birthday party around 2 a.m. Saturday. Joshua Briese, who had been a Gila River policeman for less than a year and hadn’t completed field training, was fatally shot.