Three years after he was involved in the largest RCMP police operation in Canadian history -- the Gustafsen Lake siege, which was directed against Shuswap traditionalists who were defending sacred burial and Sundance grounds against a forced eviction -- Gordon Molendyk, one of the RCMP members of the Emergency Response Team, has been honoured by the city of Prince George, BC. Molendyk, a Prince George RCMP constable, has been named "Citizen of the Year" according to the November 16, 1998 issue of BC Report Magazine.

At Gustafsen, Molendyk had claimed in a bizarre and dubious story to have been shot by Sundance camp members and saved only by his bullet proof vest. Yet he was apparently completely unharmed, and although the damaged flak jacket was displayed to media, no bullets were ever produced as evidence. One officer maintained that he had accidentally thrown that crucial evidence "out the car window". Moreover, the manufacturer of the bullet proof vest stated that he was "surprised" that his body armour could have protected Molendyk from what was alleged to have been a high calibre weapon.