On-duty Red Lake tribal police officer one of two killed in two-vehicle crash

An on-duty Red Lake tribal police officer was one of two drivers who died in a traffic collision Wednesday.

The crash occurred on Hwy. 1 east of the Red Lake community, according to the Red Lake Police Department.

Police identified the officer as Jesse Branch, 35, and the other person who died as Alan Lussier Jr., 37. The circumstances of the crash have yet to be disclosed.

Red Lake Tribal Chair Darrell G Seki Sr. has ordered flags flown at half-staff at tribal buildings and other locations in Branch’s honor.

Branch’s sister Tina Garrison told the Minnesota Star Tribune that her brother worked for Red Lake law enforcement since he was 18 years old. He started as a corrections officer and moved up to be a police officer.

“He was always welcoming,” Garrison said. “He was always willing to do anything, always cheerful, friendly, joking around.”

Garrison said her brother had a girlfriend for more than a year. The girlfriend had children and “he treated them as his own kids. He would do anything he could for anybody else,” she said.

Branch grew up in Bemidji and loved rodeo, horses and 4-H, Garrison said.

“We had horses back in the day. He would ride horses and just be involved with that in 4-H,” she said.

The Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office shared its condolences with Branch’s family and the Red Lake Nation, “and the grieving families following a tragic crash this morning near Red Lake,” the department said on its Facebook page.

“Officer Branch was a respected professional officer who loved the community he served,” the post said. “He previously served on the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Posse and had just joined the North Country First Responders. He was supposed to pick up his gear today.”

As night fell Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office provided an escort through Beltrami County in honor of Branch.

“Thank you for your service and we’ll take it from here,” the agency said.

Many who knew Branch took to social media to mourn him.

“He was so so proud to move from detention to police officer,” wrote Alice Benaise, who said she chatted with him Saturday. ”He told me he had just come back from a training. He just loved Red Lake [and] our people.”

Ashlyn Lyons posted online that Branch had been her co-worker for many years and knew him since he was 18 years old.

“He was ready to enter into public safety at a young age,” Lyons wrote. “He dedicated his life to Red Lake Nation.

The same police department lost another officer in July 2021, when Ryan Bialke was shot to death by David Brian Donnell Jr.

Donnell, now 31, was sentenced two years later to a 37-year term.

Lussier lived in St. Paul and was visiting family on the reservation for the Thanksgiving holiday at the time of his death, his sister said Thursday.

“Alan was the protector of the family,” said Leighshell Layton. “He was always a caring man with a great sense of humor. He would always lift people up in their darkest moments. He left an impact on everyone he met.”

Layton said Lussier’s survivors include six sons and others “who will miss him tremendously.”