Yuma Council honors Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Day, fallen officer

Red shirts filled Yuma City Hall as the Yuma City Council used its May 6 meeting to spotlight two forms of public remembrance, one for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and another for a fallen police officer. The proclamations did not create a new program or budget line, but they did put the city’s spotlight on issues that still shape daily life in Yuma County: violence against Indigenous women and the legacy of officers killed in the line of duty.

The council meeting began at 5:30 p.m. at 1 City Plaza, where community members were encouraged to wear red and bring signs in support of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women awareness. The council read a proclamation marking May as a month of remembrance and awareness for Indigenous women who are missing or have been victims of violence. That recognition carries weight in a region where public acknowledgment can help keep attention on the disproportionately high rates of violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls across the United States and Canada.

Mayor Doug Nicholls said the proclamations reflected the importance of “bringing the community together while honoring those who served and sacrificed for public safety.” In practical terms, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women proclamation was a statement of support rather than a policy shift. It elevated a problem tied to safety, justice and family trauma, but the council did not pair it with a new service, funding measure or enforcement plan.

The council did approve a concrete action elsewhere in the same meeting: naming the city’s new Public Safety Evidence Storage Facility after Lt. Daniel Elkins. The City of Yuma said the move recognized Elkins’ service, leadership and sacrifice. Elkins was killed in the line of duty with the Yuma Police Department on July 4, 1995, when he and Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. Michael Crowe were shot while investigating missing evidence at their headquarters. The Yuma Police Department says Officer Gary Alan Maas, killed on April 9, 1986, was the first Yuma police officer killed in the line of duty.

That split between symbolism and action defined the night. Alongside the proclamations, the council’s agenda also included an aquatics feasibility study, a five-year inmate work program renewal and a proposed fee exemption for resident veteran-owned businesses. For residents watching City Hall, the message was clear: some items change the city on paper, while others change how Yuma chooses to remember its dead and confront a problem that has long gone unresolved.