Statutes | Fort Belknap Tribal Code Title IV Part II ยง 1.12 | 2019
A. A person commits the offense of Handicap Abuse if s/he purposely or knowingly inflicts physical injury upon a handicapped person or intimidates, or financially exploits, or when a caretaker or a family member knowingly deprives (as defined under Abuse of a family member) a handicapped person of the basic necessities of life such as, but not limited to food, shelter, clothing, and medical and personal care, which are necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish, or mental illness.
B. A person convicted of Handicapped Abuse shall be guilty of a Class 1 offense and shall be fined an amount not to exceed $5,000.00, or imprisoned for a term not to exceed one year in jail, or both.
C. Mandatory Arrest.
1) An officer shall arrest and take into custody any person who the officer has reason to believe abused a handicapped person with whom slhe is residing. This mandatory arrest provision means the victim need not sign a complaint for an arrest to occur. Further, the officer shall arrest if he has probable cause to do so even though it may be against the express wishes of the victim. No warrant is required.
2) An officer shall arrest and take into custody any person whom the officer has probable cause to believe has violated an order for protection regardless of whether the person violating the order was invited back into the home.
3) Whether or not an arrest occurred the officer must make a written report and submit the report within 48 hours to the prosecutor. The prosecutor must provide a copy of such report to the Department of Social Services within 48 hours its receipt.
D. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall control:
1) "handicapped person" shall mean an adult person who by reason of mental deficiency, disease or defect, or by reason of physical limitation, injury or infirmity, is not able to resist or defend themselves against the actions of others.
2) "financially exploits" shall mean expending the funds of an elder for purposes which do not directly benefit the elder, without his/her permission, or expending resources for purposes which do not directly benefit an elder who is incompetent.
3) "intimidates" shall mean an act or statement by a person which purposely causes another person to perform or not to perform an act because helshe is afraid or believes to do so would mean the person would carry out a threat.
History: Subsection 1.12 (A-D) enacted on the 3/8/99, Resolution 63-99.