Turtle Mountain Reservation, ND (trfnews.i234.me)—On the night of August 23, 2020, police officers fired fatal shots at Brandon Richard Laducer, a 35-year-old Native American man from Belcourt, North Dakota. They believed they were taking down a fugitive—only to realize, hours later, that they had the wrong man.
According to a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NDBCI) report, the deadly mistake was only uncovered when officers found Laducer’s wallet on a kitchen counter inside the house where the shooting occurred. The identification inside revealed his name and birthdate. Brandon Richard Laducer was not the man they were after.
The Chase That Led to a Tragic Misidentification
The police pursuit started with an alleged altercation at a bar in Bottineau County, where a man named Brandon Lee Laducer, a 37-year-old white man from Dunseith, was accused of threatening patrons and firing a weapon. With active warrants out for his arrest, law enforcement officers pursued him onto the Turtle Mountain Reservation, tracking him to a homestead belonging to the Laducer family.
At the scene, officers were warned that Brandon Laducer was armed. When he stepped onto the deck, he fired a handgun, and as many as seven officers opened fire, killing him.
It wasn’t until they processed the scene that officers discovered they had shot the wrong man. Brandon Richard Laducer had no active warrants.
A Mother’s Fight for Answers and Justice
For Renee Martin, Brandon Laducer’s mother, the truth behind her son’s killing didn’t come to light until she filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and obtained the NDBCI report in April 2022—almost two years later. The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) never fulfilled her records requests.
Martin claims officials gave her misleading information immediately after the shooting. She says she was initially told that officers arrived at the Laducer homestead to perform a wellness check on Brandon’s aunt, Annette Laducer.
After that first conversation, Martin says officers stopped returning her calls.
Determined to uncover the truth, she filed a federal lawsuit against the United States government and several law enforcement officers involved in the shooting. In August 2022, she filed a wrongful death case in U.S. District Court, seeking $20 million in damages to support Brandon’s two children and grandchild.
The Legal Battle: An Uphill Fight
Martin, representing herself in court, argues that the officers violated her son’s Fourth Amendment rights by pursuing him onto the reservation without a valid warrant. The case was dismissed in February 2024 over technical legal grounds, but she has now taken it to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, with plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
A Broader Issue: Indigenous Families Seeking Justice
Martin has connected with other Native families who have lost loved ones to police violence and feel left in the dark. She believes the lack of transparency and legal roadblocks make it nearly impossible for Native families to hold law enforcement accountable.
“This is why you don’t see these cases being prosecuted,” Martin said. “Nobody has the official FBI report.”
Will the Supreme Court Take the Case?
Legal experts say the Supreme Court is unlikely to take on any given case, but Martin’s legal battle raises major constitutional questions that could pique the court’s interest.
- Can federal officers be held accountable for their actions on tribal land?
- Does pursuing someone onto a reservation without a valid warrant violate the Fourth Amendment?
- Should Bivens claims—which allow lawsuits against federal officers—be extended to cases on tribal land?
While the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether her case moves forward, Martin has vowed to take it all the way.
“I’m never going to stop fighting,” she said.
For continued updates on this case, stay tuned to TRF News.
I’m Chris Harper, reporting for trfnews.i234.me