Sask. councillor regrets social media post about Colten Boushie shooting death, says wife

A Saskatchewan reeve says the future of acouncillor who posted an online comment about the shooting death ofan Aboriginal man will be a topic at an upcoming meeting.

A screen-grab of the post, from a user named Ben Kautz, waswidely circulated after the death of Colten Boushie earlier thismonth.

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Boushie, 22, of the Red Pheasant First Nation was killed afterthe vehicle he was in drove onto a farm in the rural municipality ofGlenside, west of Saskatoon.

The property-owner, 54-year-old Gerald Stanley, is charged withsecond-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty and was granted bailFriday.

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"His only mistake was leaving three witnesses," read the poston a Saskatchewan farmers group Facebook page. The group has sincebeen closed.

Kautz, a farmer near the small town of Lampman, southeast ofRegina, is a councillor with the rural municipality of Browning.

The reeve for the area, Pius Loustel, wouldn't say whether hethinks the post warrants Kautz's removal from council.

"We're going to discuss it at our next meeting," Loustel said."That's all I'm going to say."

'He shouldn't have said what he said'

Kautz did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

His wife, Dawn Kautz, told The Canadian Press that she doesn'tknow exactly what the post said but that it was written in the heatof the moment. The family has had thousands of dollars worth oftools and gas stolen from their farm in the past, she said.

Her husband regrets the post, she added, and has offered to stepdown as councillor.

"He shouldn't have said what he said and he knows that," saidDawn Kautz.

"My husband removed his comment. ... I wish we could just leaveit at that."

Racial tensions flared

An initial RCMP release about the shooting stated that people inthe car were taken into custody as part of a theft investigation.However, they were released without charges.

First Nations leaders have called the release biased, sayingpeople may have drawn the conclusion that the shooting was somehowjustified.

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A cousin of Boushie, who was in the car at the time of theshooting, has said they were heading home to the reserve after anafternoon of swimming when they got a flat tire and were looking forhelp.

Racial tensions flared after the killing. And comments on socialmedia both anti-First Nation and supporting vigilante justiceagainst the farmer charged spurred Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wallto call on residents to "rise above intolerance."

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Brian Fornwald, another councillor in Browning, said he wasunaware of Kautz's post but thinks he should be able to remain oncouncil.

"I think everybody says something sometimes that they regret 10seconds after," he said. "I don't think you're human if youhaven't."

He said many farmers have been victims of theft, and it getstheir "dander up."

"It's hard to take things back, I guess," Fornwald said."Maybe he needs to make a public apology."