text: While the legal process cannot bring back the troopers and will punish the defendant, this case, like many others reported here, raises the issue of the VPSO's role in the village as a kind of surrogate for real police authority. VPSOs are not perceived as tribal police, drawing their authority from tribal leadership because they aren't. In fact they are employees of Native Non-profits.They become the targets  of resentment,leaving it for the distant troopers to come in and deal with the issue as a real criminal justice matter. Troopers and other police organizations have immediate back up.VPSOS do not.When will policymakers realize that this endangers both VPSOS and troopers?