North Carolina sheriff's deputy is out of job over video of him slamming woman to ground during fight

A North Carolina cop has been charged after instigating a brawl last month at a Native American dig site.

Video shows Onslow County deputy James Delao, 53, slamming a woman to the ground at the recently dug-up archaeological site on June 23.

The record archeological find had been unearthed weeks earlier by a crew working on a development project along the waterway in Carteret County's Cedar Point.

Archeologists uncovered 11 human burial sites - the remnants of a lost village. This put the planned multimillion dollar Bridge View community on pause, though tensions boiled over as officials considered enacting a law that would have allowed the build to continue.

A confrontation between two groups ensued between those in favor of the project and locals from the Tuscarora tribe against it.

In a statement to DailyMail.com days later, Tuscarora National said the altercation began after someone physically assaulted a Native woman and her children, while the local sheriff insisted authorities were searching for a suspect in an alleged stabbing.

The footage seemingly shows how the Onslow County cop had been the aggressor. He's charged with communicating threats, assaulting a female, and filing a false police report, and as of writing, is no longer with the department.

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Onslow County deputy James Delao - seen here off-duty in neighboring Carteret County where he lives - has been charged in last month's brawl at a Native American dig site

Video shows the since fired cop slamming a woman to the ground at the recently dug-up archaeological site there, where a planned multimillion dollar community was put on pause. Residents in favor of the projects clashed with peaceful Native American activists on June 23

'We have been living this [for] the last three weeks,' Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck, founder of the Missing Murdered Indigenous Coalition of North Carolina (MMIWNC), said in a statement sharing the previously unseen clip. 'It has been very difficult.'

'It is violence,' the member of the Occoneechee Band of the Saponi Nation continued, unveiling the new footage on Wednesday.

'He put his hands on a woman... he had no right to do that.'

The woman in the footage remains unnamed, and the child previously mentioned by members of the Tuscarora is not seen.

Instead, the brief snippet shows the armed man attacking the defenseless woman before throwing her to the ground, with no knife as was previously claimed.

Last month, when DailyMail.com reached out to Carteret County cops for comment, they confirmed deputies were searching for an alleged perpetrator in a then-confirmed stabbing.

Based on the charges filed, it appears Delao - who polices neighboring Onslow County but lives in Bridgeview along with some of the other residents featured in the video - allegedly doctored a police report to say someone produced a knife.

When contacted, Onslow County cops confirmed he is no longer with the department.

Deputies in Carteret County, meanwhile, wrote in arrest report that Delao gave them misleading information about allegedly being assaulted by one of the Native Americans, leaving out that he grabbed and slammed the woman to the ground first.

The woman in the footage remains unnamed, and the child previously mentioned by members of the Tuscarora is not seen

Instead, the brief snippet shows the armed man attacking the defenseless woman before throwing her to the ground, with no knife as was previously claimed

Last month, when DailyMail.com reached out to Carteret County cops for comment, they confirmed deputies were searching for an alleged perpetrator in a then-confirmed stabbing

Based on the charges filed, it appears Delao - who polices neighboring Onslow County but lives in Bridgeview along with some of the other disgruntled residents - flubbed a police report to say someone produced a knife

When contacted, Onslow County cops confirmed he is no longer with the department. The 53-year-old is currently charged with communicating threats, assaulting a female, and filing a false police report. He has been released ahead of his trial after signing a written agreement

Warrants filed ahead of Delao's arrest substantiate this, with officers writing how the the former deputy assaulted the unidentified woman 'by grabbing and slamming (her) to the ground.'

Another excerpt reportedly said Delao threatened two people, telling both of them, 'I will knock you the f**k out.'

In a statement on Wednesday, the Carteret County Sheriff's Office said they are still investigating the dispute, and that more charges are still possible.

A warrant for the suspect wanted for the nonexistent stabbing has since been tossed, after Delao described someone getting stabbed in the arm with a pocketknife by an unnamed aggressor.

Many erroneously assumed the person was part of the peaceful assortment of activists protesting against the dig - spurring Cavalier-Keck, who also serves as co-founder of 7 Directions of Service, a nonprofit that works for Indigenous and marginalized communities, to celebrate the exoneration during a news conference Wednesday.

However, she said she feels charging one person fails to solve the larger issue at hand. 

'We celebrate the win of our innocence, being declared two weeks too late, after the media has already painted a biased and racist imagery of our culture, with some imaginary stabbing and knife carrier,' she said. 

'We do not accept this display of justice as it belittles our value and experience. We take it as the current reflection of the status quo.'

The multi-million Bridge View neighborhood project (seen here partially finished following the discovery) is still on pause. On June 23, a group of Indigenous people gathered there before coming into contact with locals

Organized by the Tuscarora Tribe of North Carolina, the gathering was described as a prayer ceremony related to archaeological finds, which included human remains. The site is seen here 

According to the Tuscarora Tribe of North Carolina, the gathering was described as a prayer ceremony related to archaeological finds, and was comprised of several local indigenous people

Supporters from all over central North Carolina and other places headed to stand in solidarity with the Tuscarora, whose ancestors are likely the ones interred there

According to the Tuscarora Tribe of North Carolina, the gathering was described as a prayer ceremony related to archaeological finds, and was comprised of several local indigenous people.

Supporters from all over central North Carolina and other places headed to stand in solidarity with the Tuscarora, who lived free  in the region until the arrival of the the first white settlers in the early 1700s.

The recent archeological dig uncovered around 2,000 artifacts - including evidence of longhouses, fish drying racks and ritual sites.

Experts said the trove all pointed to a the existence of early Native American village, one inhabited by the Tuscarora tribe.

Many also claim a state's bill to bulldoze the site thus came in a violation of a United Nations resolution with protections for indigenous people, spurring not only the procession on June 23, but a battle between local lawmakers.

State Sen. Michael Lazzara, a Republican from Onslow, has asked the legislature to overlook the archaeological findings buried there - to pave way for the gated community that would have included a boat ramp pier and fenced in dog park.

As of writing, there is no word on whether the development will continue, following a forecasted finish sometime this summer.

After the altercation, the entrance to the gated community was closed, in a bid to to help address both groups' safety. 

 House Bill 385 was introduced earlier in the month, days after the find. It was overhauled last month after it was met widespread criticism from Natives and the state's Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

North Carolina lawmakers, meanwhile, continue to debate the topic at the state legislature. 

Those against the proposed bill include the Tuscarora Nation Grand Council, a committee composed of the three traditional Tuscarora communities in nearby Robeson County.

Chris Southerly, the acting state archeologist, told WRAL that the site has a rich history of multiple Native American groups - all of whom converged for cross-cultural interactions in the decades before the three-year conflict between the Tuscarora People and European colonists.

'In the [European] contact period, it could have been a part of the Powhatan Confederation - the Indians that were met by the Jamestown settlers,' he said following the altercation last month.

As for the weight of this particular discovery, Sen. Mike Woodward, a Democrat from the 22nd district, said: 'In this example Down East, you've got human femurs that have been found - and are still lying there, exposed, on some of these properties.'

'That's a little different than finding a few arrowheads.'

Experts said the bones all point to an early Native American village inhabited by the Tuscarora tribe, who claim the state's bill to bulldoze the site is a violation of a United Nations resolution with protections for indigenous people

North Carolina lawmakers, meanwhile, continue to debate the topic at the state legislature - as a separate battle occurs on the ground between those in favor of finishing the waterfront homes and those against

The trenches dug by an archaeological consultant who found the thousands of additional artifacts, meanwhile, still sit marked by small flags, including the 11 human burial sites. 

As cops continue to vet the actions of the now-axed officer from the neighboring police force, The Tuscarora Nation told DailyMail.com how members of their group witnessed the fight.

They said that a resident of the Cedar Point development now unmasked as the officer 'physically assaulted a Native woman and her children.'

'The NC Tuscarora and NY Tuscarora have separate and distinct governing bodies and represent themselves independently,' a statement sent to DailyMail.com days after the altercation last month read.

'Despite the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources consulting with members of federally recognized tribes outside the State and with the Commission of Indian Affairs, the State has yet to consult with the NC Tuscarora,' they said.

Weeks prior, the tribe added a bill filed that sought to grant North Carolinian Tuscaroras state status to reaffirm their position as a state-protected tribe, stopping the build in its tracks.

'We have received no letter of the findings and no offer to provide evidence of our claims,' Chief Cecil Hunt of the SaddleTree Community, Chief Stanford Locklear of Prospect Longhouse, and Chief Onyas Locklear of Maxton Longhouse explained.

Archaeologists have since taken over the site, sparking debate as to what will become of the finds - and the patch of land where they were found 

The tribe is trying to claim rights to it, as others in favor of going through with the project have pointed to the money and other resources already spent

Referencing treaties from the early 17th century between the Tuscarora and the English Colonies, the trio added: 'The State of NC must honor those treaties and embrace their relationship with the Tuscarora to reach equitable justice for our communities who face oppression at the hands of the settler society.

'We demand accountability and equitable justice from the County of Carteret, the State of NC and the United States.' 

Meanwhile, in the wake of the initial discovery, archaeologists have taken over the site, sparking the debate as to what will become of the finds.

The defeat of the Tuscaroras more than 300 years before marked the end of their dominance along the North Carolina coastal plains, but those who remain are now the only Indigenous group in the state to claim rights to the site.

They are thus fighting against the bill that would have allowed developers to build on the site and others like it, officially named House Bill 385.

The bill had been introduced in May shortly after the find, but was overhauled last month after it was met widespread criticism from Natives and the state’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

A law previously allowed developers like the one building Bridge View not to disclose to possible purchasers whether there were significant archaeological artifacts on the property and to 'incidentally' disturb archaeological sites, without halting and digs afterward.

As of writing, no word on whether the development will continue has been air, as many of the homes have already been finished

Under the revised legislation, developers like Bridge View's Cedar Point Developers LLC will now be allowed to ask the Office of State Archaeology whether it believes there are culturally sensitive sites on the land during the purchase process.

If a developer uncovers an archaeological site while working, they will need to pause all activity. 

Even if the Office of State Archaeology does not have an issue with a site, it will still be able to restrict development for a period of three years.

However. the Tuscaroras say the bill still violates international laws protecting indigenous groups, even after the watered-down version passed this past Tuesday.

It requires state officials to do more to work with developers ahead of such land purchase, to warn them of the possibility that they may run into a suspected archeological site.

The archeological dig uncovered around 2,000 artifacts - including evidence of longhouses, fish drying racks, and ritual sites

Cecil Hege, who lives nearby, is among those in favor of pausing the build. Other residents, however, are not - as the arrested officer was confirmed to be among  those who lived there

Meanwhile, Delao was released on a written promise to appear in court, as Cavalier-Keck on Wednesday said her group would be working with an attorney to look into civil rights charges.

'We're going to need our elected leaders to step up,' she said. 'They're going to have to come to terms with this.'