Creating Safe Communities
"Improving Communities through Multi-Jurisdictional Relationships"
Grand Casino Hinckley HotelHinckley, MN • September 29-October 1, 2008
Join Us
The 4th annual
Erica Blake Memorial 5K Run/2K Walk will once again be scheduled during the 2008 NALES Conference. Please check back soon for more information.
Erica Rae Blake is the oldest daughter of Sgt. Bill Blake and Bernadette Benjamin. Erica Rae is the reason why the Native American Law Enforcement Summit (NALES) is in existence today. Bill Blake has been a presenter on Gang Awareness for several years. Erica Rae got the opportunity to see her father talk to the public about crime and gangs. Erica Rae also had her father speak to her grade school and high school about gangs and crime. Erica Rae challenged her father to do more after a gang presentation in Fond du Lac in 1999. As drugs, gangs, and violence started to become more prevalent on the reservations, Erica Rae implored her father to “do more”. The conversation ended when Sgt. Blake told Erica Rae that he was doing his part by being a parent, police officer, and by doing gang awareness presentations. Others need to step up and do their part is what Sgt. Blake told his daughter.
On February 12, 2003, Erica Rae died tragically as a result of a gunshot wound to her head. A man at a party picked up a handgun and pointed it at the direction Erica Rae was at and pulled the trigger. The man says that he thought the gun was unloaded. Erica Rae died instantly leaving behind several siblings and an infant son, Isaiah.
A year after the death of Erica Rae, Bill Blake thought about the challenged issued by his daughter in 1999 and finally said “we will do more”. The goal of The Native American Law Enforcement Summit is to create awareness about the Native American crime problem. This conference is the first step to addressing pressing crime needs in the Native American community.
Erica Rae Blake was very active in high school (Volleyball, Track, and Cheerleading). Erica Rae loved to go to the health club and work out. A memory of Erica Rae that her father holds is going to the gym together and stopping for a bottle of water on the way home. The Erica Rae Blake Memorial 5K Run/2K Walk is a fitting tribute to a young lady who loved to run and take long walks around the lake. The Native American Law Enforcement Summit (NALES) is an opportunity for all of us to help our communities. In doing so, we get the chance for a young lady, taken from us way too soon, to reach her goals of helping her community and to be of service to others.