‘Frightening’ attack on officer stopped by stun gun

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This article was published 21/02/2024 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — A man was sentenced to seven and a half months of time served for running toward a Brandon Police Service officer with a knife, an event described by the Crown attorney in provincial court on Tuesday as something “from a movie scene.”

Darnell Custer, 25, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and breaching his probation order. The Crown and defence agreed on the seven-and-a-half-month sentence for the man.

Crown attorney Andrew Sieklicki read the evidence for the charges in court, saying the facts of the case were “quite frightening” and “almost play out like a movie scene.”

On Aug. 18, 2023, police were dispatched to 309 Ninth St. for a call about a man behind the Brandon Friendship Centre carrying a large knife and brass knuckles.

Officers located Custer, who matched the suspect’s description, and saw that he had a large black knife in one hand and brass knuckles in the other.

Police told Custer to drop his weapons, but he did not follow their orders. One of the officers then deployed a couple of rounds from a stun gun. Custer was briefly affected by the stun gun, but quickly stood back up and pulled the stun gun probes from his body. Custer started heading south when an officer pointed his gun at Custer and told him to drop his weapons.

But Custer did not drop his weapons and instead ran toward the officer with his knife in his hand above his head.

The officer tried to retreat but fell onto his back, while Custer continued to advance toward him. The officer then deployed the last cartridge from the stun gun and Custer fell to the ground.

Other officers rushed to Custer and placed him in handcuffs.

“Mr. Custer’s actions with utilizing and brandishing a knife while advancing on an officer who was pointing a gun at him — quite frankly, he’s very lucky to be alive today,” Sieklicki said. “We’re lucky that he’s alive and that no officers were hurt in the situation that unfolded.”

The Crown attorney added that the recommended sentence takes Custer’s guilty pleas into account but also sends the message denouncing his actions and behaviour that day.

Custer’s defence lawyer, Hayley Allardyce, told the court that her client’s recollection of the events that day is blurry as he was under the influence of methamphetamine. She said Custer didn’t have a lot of stability or positive supports growing up and that substance use is directly related to his criminal offending.

Allardyce said Custer hopes to get into residential treatment and has goals of pursuing a career in carpentry.

She added that Custer should be given credit for his guilty pleas as he could have taken the matter to trial and made an argument about the police’s use of force that day.

Ultimately, Judge Patrick Sullivan agreed with the sentence recommendation and commended the police officers for their restraint that day that prevented a much more tragic outcome.

He told Custer to address his addiction and stop using meth and encouraged him to pursue his career goals.

“You have demonstrated the capacity for serious violence,” Sullivan said. “And where your life goes from here is largely up to you.”

Custer was also sentenced to a term of probation and a lifetime weapons ban.

— Brandon Sun