Chief deputy accused of arresting people on tribal lands, sexually harassing coworkers and other crimes

BENSON COUNTY, N.D. (KVLY/Gray News) - A chief deputy is facing numerous charges in Benson County, including tampering with public records and sexual harassment.

KVLY confirmed that Benson County Chief Deputy Travis Carlson is in custody in the Grand Forks County Correctional Facility.

According to court documents obtained by KVLY, during an April 9 incident, Carlson allegedly arrested two tribal members on tribal land without the approval of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Carlson reportedly falsified the statements of probable cause to say he had concurrent jurisdiction, which is not legally possible.

Another tampering charge stemmed from a May 27 incident where Carlson arrested two tribal members for alleged felony offenses, transported them to tribal court for an extradition hearing (a legal impossibility), claimed he was exercising concurrent jurisdiction, and then transported them to the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center off the reservation.

Carlson is also being charged with four misdemeanor counts of official oppression.

Two of those charges are for illegally arresting the two tribal members on April 9.

Court documents also allege that on September 30, 2024, Carlson had illegally detained, mistreated, and infringed upon the personal rights of a juvenile passenger in a motor vehicle.

The final official oppression charge stems from an August 7, 2024, incident where he reportedly conducted a traffic stop on the highway at night that served no legitimate purpose, and illegally detained and questioned the person he stopped.

Carlson also faces two misdemeanor charges of a public servant refusing to perform duty.

Court documents say Carlson refused to identify a key witness in an arrest incident on April 17, 2025. That key witness was another law enforcement officer.

In April of 2024, Carlson is accused of failing to make, file, or present any report or conclusion to a burglary he investigated after several requests from the State’s Attorney.

The final three misdemeanor charges are disorderly conduct charges, all of which involve the alleged harassment of female colleagues or, in one case, a detainee.

Court documents allege that Carlson harassed a female law enforcement officer with repeated sexual innuendos while he was acting as her supervisor or field training officer.

Another count alleges that Carlson harassed a Benson County employee by coming to her place of work while in Deputy Sheriff uniform and grabbing her from behind on the shoulders. After a domestic incident at that same woman’s house, he allegedly told her to shut off her surveillance cameras because he would be stopping by “to give hugs”.

And the final disorderly conduct charge listed in the documents alleges that Carlson followed a detained female into the women’s bathroom, where he stood with his body camera recording while the detainee gave a urine sample for drug testing. She was “alarmed, harassed, and annoyed” at the demand to provide a urine sample under those conditions.

The three felony charges carry a maximum fine of five years in prison.