Fort Belknap reinstates officer who shot suspect

Fort Belknap Indian Community announced on a Facebook post last week that a tribal police officer under investigation after he shot and killed a suspect has been returned to his regular duties with the Fort Belknap Law Enforcement Services effective immediately, although the FBI says it is still investigating the incident.

Fort Belknap Indian Community said in Facebook posts Oct. 23 and 24, 2021, that the officer, identified in last week’s post as Bradley Norton, had shot and killed a man Oct. 23, 2021, after a chase that started when the officer tried to make a traffic stop in the Hays area and the driver did not stop.

The post said that the officer reported the suspect was not cooperative and exhibited a weapon after the pursuit stopped. That led to the officer-involved shooting and the death of the suspect, later identified as 34-year-old Clayton Grant.

Last week’s post said that the tribal council was advised that, after a year of investigation by the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs Internal Affairs division, the investigation determined Norton acted properly in the line of duty and has been cleared of any wrong-doing.

FBI public information officer Sandra Barker said last week and again Monday that the FBI investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

Fort Belknap public information officer Camille Stein said Friday that the Fort Belknap Indian Community is standing by its statement about Norton being reinstated.

BIA Internal Affairs Division had not responded by printing deadline this morning to a request for comment.

Fort Belknap Indian Community’s post last week said the tribal government also conducted its own due-diligence investigation into the incident.

After the story came out, relatives of Grant and a purported witness at the scene said the report released by the tribal government was incorrect.

A Facebook post of a video shot at the scene showed Grant’s body in the headlights of a vehicle with one arm behind his back, apparently in handcuffs, although the handcuffs are not visible.

The person who made the post said Grant was shot four times.

The person who posted the video and the witness did not respond at the time to requests for interviews by Havre Daily News.