Peepeekisis Cree Nation woman who stood between armed man and his wife awarded posthumous bravery medal

A woman from the Peepeekisis Cree Nation, about 100 kilometres northeast of Regina, has been posthumously awarded a Medal of Bravery for standing between an armed man and his wife during a domestic dispute.

Sandra Desnomie, then 58, was battling cancer at the time and also stood between the armed man and police, according to one of her daughters.

"When I had heard what had happened in the incident, I was just like, 'My mother is a warrior,'" Billiejean Dieter said. "Her warrior spirit awoke in that day and she fought and she did what she had to do to protect the innocent people that were involved."

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon presented the medal to Dieter and another one of Desnomie's daughters, Patricia June Lawson, at a ceremony Thursday in Ottawa at Rideau Hall.

Police told there was an active shooter

According to the Governor General's office, Desnomie's intervention took place at a clinic in Peepeekisis on July 11, 2018.

It said that when an armed man threatened his wife with a rifle, Desnomie stood between them and "talked him down."

It also said she twice grabbed the rifle, "tearing off parts of it until it fell."

The man left and was later intercepted by police, it said.

In a news release issued around the time of the incident, police said they arrested a man after he was spotted leaving the medical centre in the Peepeekisis Cree Nation with a rifle.

Police said multiple people called 911 about an active shooter at the medical centre.

According to police, when File Hills First Nations Police Service officers arrived, the man allegedly came out with a gun and started walking toward a truck. 

After ordering the man — described as very agitated and angry — to stop, officers used pepper spray on him and arrested him, police said.

Dieter said that during her mother's struggle with the armed man in the clinic, the gun's magazine went flying and she knew he could no longer fire the weapon. When the man was about to leave the building, her mom realized the police outside were armed and their weapons were raised because he was still holding the gun, Dieter said.

"My mom went and intervened on that and told the police, 'Don't shoot,' because she knew that the weapon wasn't loaded," Dieter said. "She also went and saved his life that day also."

Dieter said things could have gone differently and Desnomie's family is very proud of her, especially since her health was already in decline.

"For her to do something like that … that's who my mother was," Dieter said. "She was so strong and she was a fighter.

"She was so brave and she had taught us to be strong and brave also."

Incident took toll on Desnomie's health

Police said that while no one was shot, a woman was taken to hospital in Fort Qu'Appelle with non-life threatening injuries.

A man was charged with several offences, including assaulting a police officer with a weapon, pointing a firearm and careless use of a firearm.

Police said staff at the medical centre received counselling and stress debriefing sessions.

Dieter said the incident took a toll on her mother's life and her health declined even more, as she was very upset, had PTSD and had a hard time sleeping.

"I was just trying to comfort her," Dieter said. "Because she said like, 'I should have, I could have. Things could have been this way.'"

But Dieter said the family is very thankful no one was shot that day.

Dieter said her mother learned she was getting the bravery medal before her death from cancer and was able to choose the style of medal she received.

The family was told on Thursday the style her mother chose, with a bow-shaped ribbon, will no longer be distributed and her mother will be the last person in Canada to receive it, she said.

Desnomie's bravery medal was one of 40 Decorations for Bravery the Governor General awarded to 50 people, some posthumously, on Thursday.

According to the Governor General's office, the Decorations for Bravery are among Canada's most prestigious civilian honours.

It said governors general have awarded Decorations for Bravery to nearly 4,000 recipients — from Canada and abroad, civilians and uniformed personnel, living and deceased — over the last 50 years in recognition of acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances.