Saskatoon indigenous woman found guilty of assault, security guard not racist
Saskatoon Canada July 12, 2023
A Saskatoon woman, who was filmed being forcefully arrested outside a grocery store in Saskatoon, has been found guilty of assault and theft in a court ruling.
A nine-minute long video was shared on social media, showing a long fight between Annette Custer and a security officer outside the FreshCo store on 33 St. in April 2021.
There was widespread outrage from indigenous leaders as Custer is from the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan.
One week later, a lawyer representing the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) requested that the police press charges against the security guard for Custer’s “unfair, violent, and inhumane” arrest.
The FSIN asked for a plan to combat anti-indigenous racism across all of Saskatchewan and for indigenous studies classes to be made compulsory in schools.
The written decision by Justice Q.D. Agnew presents a different view of events.
Based on Custer’s statement, she admitted to going to the store to steal food.
“While there, she concealed a roast and other goods in her purse. She then deliberately left the store having paid for certain items, but not those concealed in her purse; those, she stole,” wrote Agnew.
The judge determined that the security guard, whose company was terminated by FreshCo following the incident, was within their rights to make a lawful citizen’s arrest and had the authority to use reasonable force to detain Custer until a police officer could arrive.
“The security officer was therefore entitled to use ‘as much force as was necessary’ to arrest Ms. Custer,” said Agnew.
According to Agnew, Custer was being arrested and resisting. She punched the security guard in the face, pulled him towards her car, and attempted to drive away, biting him.
“In those circumstances, the amount of force which Mr. McMillan used verged on being insufficient to accomplish the legal ends of effecting the arrest,” wrote Agnew.
Agnew stated that Custer did not sustain any injuries during the arrest, and she declined medical assistance when the police arrived.
Agnew dismissed Custer’s claim that she punched the guard in self-defense.
“Ms. Custer knew that she had stolen something from the store. She heard Mr. McMillan tell her she was under arrest,” said Agnew.
“I simply do not believe her when she says that she thought he was ‘assaulting’ her … She did not punch him in self-defense; she punched him to attempt to get away from him and escape. There is simply no air of reality to her claim of self-defense.”
Custer’s lawyer argued that her rights protected by the Charter were violated during the arrest and requested either a dismissal of the case or a lighter punishment.
“The fact is that Ms. Custer suffered no harm from what was, at best, an extremely minor breach of her right,” said Agnew.
“Reducing her sentence for something that was both trivial and literally inconsequential would be a remedy vastly outweighing the breach.”
She has been found guilty of both theft under $5,000 and assault.
She will be sentenced at a future court date.
