(Still from video by Eleanore Sunchild)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

One count

Suspect charged in relation to Battleford assault

Jul 20, 2022 | 5:52 PM

A Battleford man is facing one count of assault following the attack of a man from Poundmaker Cree Nation.

In a press release, RCMP said Adam Lesmeister, 46, was arrested and charged Tuesday night. His court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 22.

The attack was caught on surveillance video by the property owner Eleanore Sunchild. It shows her friend Colby Tootoosis unhitching a trailer in her yard when he was approached by three men. One of them was demanding to know where his bag and pants were and can be heard saying he traced his phone to the property. The video shows the man attacking Tootoosis. His braid was pulled and he took a knee to the face while his six-year-old daughter sat in the vehicle. The men left before the officers arrived.

No other arrests have been made and police said the investigation continues. They are asking anyone with information to contact them through the detachment or Crime Stoppers.

Unprovoked

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Sunchild told battlefordsNOW that it’s been a difficult week, particularly for Tootoosis.

“He’s just trying to process what happened. He was an innocent victim,” she said.

In a statement released by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), Sunchild described the incident as a racially motivated attack. She said seeing one of the individuals in the video holding a golf club was especially alarming.

“What if my visibly Indigenous-looking son, with long black hair in a braid, was back there?” she said. “Would they have beat him with a golf club? If one of my neighbours had been standing in my yard, I highly doubt they would have been attacked,” she said.

Sunchild said the bag the accused spoke of in the video was located just beyond her yard, stressing she didn’t know who put it there and doesn’t know where it came from.

“There’s a line back there that becomes town property and there has been stolen stuff placed back there before,” she said. “Last summer there was some bikes found back there, not on my property but on the town’s property and people cross through that area all the time. Lots of quads go through there towards the river.”

Sunchild, who is a lawyer, added she is looking at filing a civil suit.

“They came onto my property and I know how civil suits work, so it’s definitely something we’re looking into,” she said.

Mayor says violence not welcome

Mayor Ames Leslie issued a statement Tuesday evening through his office with the Town of Battleford, stating the town does not condone violence and that the actions of the accused in the video appear to violate the goal of the community to be welcoming and inclusive. Speaking with battlefordsNOW, he said it’s important that residents allow the investigation to finish and for the justice system to take corrective action, for the safety of everyone in the community.

“Let the RCMP do their job and we can help keep them accountable,” he said. “At the same time, we don’t need people taking things into their own hands to respond.”

The City also issued a statement on Wednesday, in reaction to multiple assaults in the region, condemning violence and racism and encouraging residents to reach out to the RCMP.

Late Wednesday, Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC) issued a statement on the assault, joining FSIN in calling for a full investigation and appropriate charges. Chief Cheryl Kahpeaysewat said:

“We are outraged and saddened by this senseless act of violence and racism in our community…We also call on the community of the Battlefords to stand up against the racial hate that has been inflicted upon multiple generations of First Nations people that have occupied and will continue to occupy this space with you.”

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW