<p>WASHINGTON &mdash; The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that tribal police officers can stop and search non-Indians on tribal lands for potential violations of state or federal law.</p>
<p>The justices unanimously reversed an appellate ruling in favor of a non-Native motorist who was charged with drug-related crimes after a tribal officer searched his pickup truck on a public road that crosses the Crow reservation in Montana.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court has previously held that tribal police have little authority over non-Indians, but Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court that allowing a temporary stop and detention — so that state or federal authorities can be called in — enhances public safety.</p>
<p>“To deny a tribal police officer authority to search and detain for a reasonable time any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats,” Breyer wrote.</p>
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<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-courts-crime-b5ee7a8bdf66566b0892885e2b39362c">The case</a> involved a traffic stop in 2016 in which Officer James Saylor of the Crow Tribe Police Department came upon a pickup truck with its headlights on and motor running, parked on the shoulder of U.S. Route 212.</p>
<p>The driver, Joshua Cooley, had watery, bloodshot eyes, Saylor said. Cooley also had two semiautomatic rifles and a handgun in the pickup, as well as methamphetamine.</p>
<p>Saylor called for help from federal and county officers, who eventually arrested Cooley.</p>
<p>The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Cooley, saying that non-Indians can be detained only if evidence of a crime is “apparent” or “obvious.” </p>
<p>The Justice Department appealed during the Trump administration and maintained its position after President Joe Biden took office.</p>