Trial set for former Washoe police chief

A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment in November and he pleaded innocent to both charges Dec. 17. His trial is set to begin Feb. 2.

The charges stem from allegations by a former tribal police officer who said Ahdunko asked him to falsify a report about a collision between a government vehicle operated by Ahdunko and a private vehicle belonging to a tribal probation officer.

The officer said the collision occurred while the two were on private business at Ahdunko's home, but the report said it happened in the course of official business.

The Washoe Tribe fired Ahdunko in 1997, and he subsequently went to work as chief of police for the Makah Tribe in Washington state. He agreed to return voluntarily to face the federal charges.

The charges against Ahdunko come as the Makah Tribe is poised to resume a generations-old tradition of gray whale hunting. The decision to hunt has brought protestors and tension to the tiny reservation on the northwesternmost tip of the continental United States.

Makah Tribal Council President Ben Johnson Jr. has said the Makah support Ahdunko.

archive