Source: US FBI
“I love working Indian country,” said Davenport, using the federal government’s designation for Native American lands. “I like catching bad guys. I like the chase. I like helping people. That keeps me going.”
For more than a century, the FBI has had jurisdiction when major crimes are committed against members of federally recognized tribes on reservations. The FBI works alongside the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and local law enforcement partners working on the reservations.
Davenport supervises a small team of agents and staff in the Pinetop-Lakeside Resident Agency, a satellite office of the Phoenix Division. He said strong working relationships are essential given the remoteness of the work. In Arizona, for example, nearly 25% of the state is designated Indian Country; the Navajo Nation alone occupies more than 15,800 square miles in northern Arizona. Davenport’s office covers the Fort Apache, San Carlos Apache, and Tonto Apache reservations in eastern Arizona.
“It’s a big asset to have tribal police and the Bureau of Indian Affairs working with us,” said Davenport. “There are a lot of things on the reservation that … if you didn’t grow up there, you don’t know.” Tribal police and prosecutors, along with local BIA agents, intimately understand the geography, customs, and people on the reservation.
“They are the eyes and ears,” said Davenport, who grew up about an hour away from the Pinetop-Lakeside office. “I will never know as much about the reservation as tribal police. They live there. They grew up there. They know everybody. They’re a huge asset for us.”
BIA agent Auggie Belvado, an enrolled member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, said the relationship is symbiotic. He has worked with Davenport and the Bureau’s agents for 16 years and says the different agencies bring unique strengths to bear.