Jail sentence for man who spit at officer
47-year-old with history of assaulting peace officers gets 36 days
Evan Kiyoshi French
Northern News Services
Friday, March 4, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A man who spat into the mouth of a police officer after being escorted to RCMP cells has been jailed for 36 days.
John Patrick Bonnetrouge, 47, was charged with assaulting a peace officer following an incident at the Yellowknife Public Library on Feb. 25. Court was told Wednesday that municipal enforcement officers called RCMP after Bonnetrouge flew into a rage, throwing chairs around the library.
Crown prosecutor Rylund Johnson said officers took him back to the RCMP detachment and had him in a cell when he spat in the mouth of one of the constables tending to him. When another officer read him his rights after the spitting attack Bonnetrouge exposed himself, said Johnson.
"The accused pulled down his pants and exposed his genitals," said Johnson.
Bonnetrouge has a criminal record dating back to 1985, including assaulting a police officer in 2011, for which he served 15 days in custody, Johnson told the court.
He said while the officer was not injured, the act of spitting in his mouth is a very serious offense.
"Spitting (on an officer) is one of the most disgusting and offensive assaults," said Johnson.
Bonnetrouge's lawyer, Bonnie Gembey, said Bonnetrouge wants to serve his time and move to Vancouver to live with his brother. He is the father of six children, ages six to 18 years, and while he is required by a court order to pay child support for the older children, he has been voluntarily paying to support the younger ones, said Gembey.
She said Bonnetrouge, who hails from Behchoko, has a Grade 11 education and was in residential school between the ages of 15 and 18. While he has a tendency to become unmanageable after a period of binge drinking, he isn't an alcoholic, said Gembey.
His behaviour is drastically differently when he is sober, she said.
"He is a bright, intelligent, considerate individual," the lawyer said.
As proceedings began, territorial court judge Christine Gagnon asked Bonnetrouge, who was sitting in the prisoner's box, whether he would like to sit beside his lawyer at the defence table. She then asked the court sheriff standing next to the prisoner's box whether he had a problem with that.
The sheriff said because Bonnetrouge had been charged with assaulting an officer, he "didn't want to have anything like that happen again."
Gembey vouched for Bonnetrouge's good behaviour since they began working on his case together.
"The allegations happened when he was grossly intoxicated," she said.
Gagnon said because Bonnetrouge had pleaded guilty and his lawyer had spoken well of him, she would let him set with his lawyer. The sheriff then took a chair and sat directly behind him.
His lawyer told the court Bonnetrouge had an altercation with an acquaintance that put him in a bad mood on the day of his outburst at the library.
She said Bonnetrouge is sorry and ashamed for what he did.
"He didn't want to discuss facts because he was feeling ashamed," she said.
Asked by Gagnon if he had anything to say for himself, Bonnetrouge stood and addressed the court.
"I apologize for what I did, normally I'm not like that at all," he said.
Gagnon sentenced Bonnetrouge to serve 45 days minus time already served in custody for a total of 36 days. He was also fined $850 as punishment for two earlier incidents of disturbing the peace and missing his court date.
The judge said there was no need for a probation or alcohol prohibition order because Bonnetrouge has proven he isn't an alcoholic but has problems on the occasions when he drinks in excess.
"I've heard good things about you. You know what's good for you," Gagnon said. "What led you to commit those (offences) was binge drinking. Probation may not achieve much."
