Ute chairman faces two misdemeanor charges

By Ryan Hall

The Daily Times

      TOWAOC, Colo. — The chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe faces two misdemeanor charges after allegedly throwing a coffee table at his wife and shoving his son during an argument, according to police.

      Chairman Selwyn Whiteskunk, 41, was arrested at approximately 7 p.m. Thursday and charged with domestic violence and endangering the welfare of a minor.

      He was placed on a mandatory restraining order and released on his own recognizance Friday morning by a magistrate judge.

      Whiteskunk did not return a call seeking comment.

      In a news release, BIA officials said Whiteskunk allegedly hurled a coffee table at his spouse, but did not strike her with it.

      She was not physically harmed but told police she feared for her well-being.

      According to the release, Whiteskunk’s son tried to protect his mother during the argument and was allegedly pushed to the side by the tribal chairman.

      The son was not physically harmed.

      Following the incident, Whiteskunk submitted to an Intoxilyzer test and passed.
Police said Whiteskunk never appeared intoxicated and was cooperative with police throughout the booking process.

      “The chairman, I guess, just blew his top,” Bill Yazza, supervisory special agent for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Towaoc said Monday in a phone interview.

      Yazza noted the tribe has been dealing with a lot of domestic violence issues recently, including 14 such cases in April, causing his staff of six officers to work 12-hour days.  He said the amount of domestic violence incidents in April was double that of the previous month.

      Yazza said of the 14 incidents one was a homicide, nine were assaults, three were sexual and one resulted in an injury.

      He said having a respected tribal official be accused of such an offense, at a time when the police department is urging awareness and enforcing a zero tolerance policy when it comes to domestic violence, was unfortunate.

      “If we have some political figure do it, it doesn’t look too good,” Yazza said, noting his department will continue to enforce the no-tolerance and mandatory arrest policies for domestic violence.

      “We’re not showing no favoritism,” he said.