BLANDING, UTAH — Shortly after sunrise last week, a squad of flak-jacketed federal agents surrounded the remote home of Dr. James Redd, arrested his wife and then stopped the 60-year-old doctor as he returned from his morning rounds to arrest him as well.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar flew to Salt Lake City to announce the indictments of the Redds and 22 others -- 16 of them Blanding residents -- in what he called the biggest bust ever of thieves who take ancient Native American artifacts from public lands, often from sacred burial sites.
The backlash started soon after, and not just because of the arrest of James and Jeanne Redd.
Another group of agents had yanked Nick Laws, 30, from his home with such force that they broke some of his toes, local officials say. Nearly 20 agents had surrounded a pair of mobile homes belonging to septuagenarian brothers and led them away in cuffs.
Local authorities called the raids overkill. The county sheriff, whose brother was among those charged, launched his own investigation into how suspects were treated.
Then a day after his arrest, Dr. Redd killed himself.
Blanding has about 3,000 residents, and on Tuesday nearly 1,000 people gathered in a Mormon community center to mourn the doctor as anger at the federal government continued to grow. Armed guards were spotted outside the Bureau of Land Management office in nearby Monticello.
"Eighteen vehicles surrounded the Redds' house," San Juan County Supervisor Bruce Adams said in an interview. "Do we do that with child molesters? With murderers?" He added, "I haven't seen a piece of pottery or an artifact that's worth a human life."
Redd had been the town's only physician for several years and was known for traveling to treat patients at all hours. Huge lines formed outside the town mortuary for his wake.
Speakers avoided discussing the case, instead focusing on his love for his five children and his wife, big-game hunting and baseball. "He lived the life of five men," said his eldest daughter, Jericca.
Federal authorities say they had no choice but to go in strong when they made their arrests.
Brett Tolman, the U.S. attorney for Utah, said Tuesday that given the scale of the crimes federal investigators uncovered during their years-long undercover probe, they needed to make a wide range of simultaneous arrests. Federal rules, he said, required agents to wear flak jackets in this kind of operation.
