Man found guilty of pointing BB gun at safety officers

A Sioux Valley Dakota Nation man has been found guilty of assault with a weapon after he pointed a BB gun at First Nations safety officers.

“I do not believe the accused when he denies pointing the BB gun at the complainant and others,” Justice Scott Abel said while delivering his verdict for Cyril Elk in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Thursday.

Elk, 47, was charged with pointing an imitation firearm and assault with a weapon on a peace officer. He stood trial in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Jan. 16 and May 7.

On the second day of trial in May, Crown attorney Sarah Kok told the court that the Crown couldn’t prove that the complainant, Helena Mazawasicuna, was enforcing a specific regulation as an FNSO at the time of the allegations.

Because of this, she said the Crown would seek a conviction for assault with a weapon rather than assault with a weapon on a police officer.

Mazawasicuna and Christopher Tacan, who were both acting as FNSOs in Sioux Valley at the time of the incident on Jan. 11, 2024, testified that Elk pointed what appeared to be a “black handgun” at them. Mazawasicuna said he pointed it directly at her head.

Abel said the weapon was ultimately determined to be a firearm, but neither knew it was a BB gun at the time and took cover in their vehicle.

They also testified that Elk said something along the lines of “I’ve got something for you” before going inside his home and coming back out with the BB gun.

Elk denied pointing the BB gun at anyone or at the FNSO’s vehicle.

He testified that he wasn’t expecting anyone to come to his home other than an ambulance.

He said a few months earlier, several people had tried to break into his home, so when he heard the vehicle pull up outside, he came outside with an axe in one hand and the BB gun in the other, but immediately put them both down on the railing of his deck after opening the door.

He also denied saying “I’ve got something for you.”

Abel said he didn’t believe Elk’s evidence, citing the inconsistencies in his testimony.

“The accused attempted to downplay his level of intoxication or impairment in his direct evidence, admitting he was impaired in cross-examination,” Abel said.

Elk initially said he didn’t know that the complainant and Tacan were FNSOs but later said that when he saw them, he knew they were FNSOs from previous knowledge.

“Both the complainant and Tacan testified they were in uniforms marked as ‘Peace Officer’ and ‘First Nations Safety Officer.’ This evidence is in clear contrast to the evidence of the accused,” Abel said.

“The accused’s evidence does not raise a reasonable doubt.”

He said Mazawasicuna’s and Tacan’s evidence was internally consistent and consistent with each other.

While Mazawasicuna testified the accused pointed the weapon at her and Tacan said he pointed it in their general direction, Abel said the evidence was consistent “that the accused pointed the weapon at them.”

“It was the threat of the use of the BB gun, the weapon, which constitutes the assault itself,” he said.

Having convicted Elk of assault with a weapon, Abel stayed the charge for pointing an imitation firearm under the Kienapple principle, which protects an offender from being convicted and punished multiple times for the same criminal act.

Elk will be sentenced at a later date following the completion of a court-ordered pre-sentence report.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com