A Yellowknife man who grabbed the “testicles” of a Mountie during a roadside scuffle following a multi-vehicle car accident on a busy street received a suspended sentence Monday.
The 29-year-old man, a first-time offender whom Yellowknifer is choosing not to identity, was handed the sentence by Judge Bernadette Schmaltz in NWT territorial court.
He pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer.
“(This) could have gotten far worse. There could have been serious injuries,” Schmaltz told the man as he sat in a Yellowknife courtroom.
On July 27 of last year, during rush-hour traffic, the offender was involved in a three-vehicle accident on the corner of Franklin Avenue and Forrest Drive.
The man, the court heard, tried to get his side of the story across to a lone RCMP officer who responded to the scene. The officer, noting the man’s agitated state, called for backup, and two other Mounties joined her at the scene.
One officer, the court heard, asked the offender if he was on any medication. He told the officer he used marijuana medicinally. The cop then informed him he was under arrest for impaired driving.
Officers tried to get the offender to drop a briefcase he carrying, but the man refused and a struggle ensued. The man was taken to the ground by Mounties, but used a freed hand to grab the “testicles” of an officer.
The Mountie punched the man in the face, breaking a bone in his hand in the process. The officer missed work for a month due to his injuries. Prosecutors and the man’s lawyer submitted a joint sentencing recommendation of a conditional sentence.
But Schmaltz, who said she weighed the offence with the offender’s personal circumstances - he bounced from foster home to foster home, has no prior convictions and pleaded guilty - said a suspended sentence would be more appropriate.
The man will still be on probation for 15 months and must abide by conditions to keep the peace and be on good behaviour.
He must also complete 100 hours of community service.