(05/19/06) MAHWAH ? The chief of the Ramapough Indian Nation says he?s shocked and depressed by 911 tapes surrounding the shooting of a tribe member.

Forty-three-year-old Emil Mann was fatally wounded after being shot by parks officer Chad Walder on April 1. The shooting stemmed from an altercation about Mann and his family members riding all-terrain vehicles in Ringwood State Park. The Bergen County Prosecutor?s office recently released tapes of the 911 calls surrounding the incident. Chief Anthony Van Dunk was shocked to hear one law enforcement official refer to tribe members as ?mountain people? during the recordings.

Van Dunk says the individual?s choice of words proves his people are not wanted in the area. The shooting further inflamed tension between tribe members and the local law enforcement community. Prosecutors say an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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