Yellowknife (Dec 01/04) - A Yellowknife teen, who was convicted of assault Thursday for threatening a wildlife officer with a baseball bat, is one of dozens of people who verbally and physically abuse territorial park staff every year.

Officers in the North Slave region are involved in some sort of confrontation with belligerent campers nearly every weekend, said Raymond Bourget, a senior wildlife officer with the department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development.

"Most people are there to enjoy the park," said Bourget. "But with a certain segment of the population, problems occur when alcohol is involved," he said.

Parks officers have been sworn at, had their car windows smashed and tires slashed, and several -- at least six in the last four years -- have been assaulted, said Bourget.

One of those campers, 18-year-old Carl Grabke, pleaded guilty to assault during a hearing Thursday morning in territorial court.

The plea came more than a day into his trial and after Crown attorney Steven Hinkley agreed to drop two charges of uttering threats and possession of a weapon.

Grabke, who had no previous criminal record, walked up to Bourget's patrol car swinging a baseball bat in Prelude Lake park on Aug. 29.

Grabke and several other campers had been drinking heavily that evening.

When Grabke approached Bourget's car, the wildlife officer told him to put the bat down, the court heard.

"Many of the decisions we make at 18 are on the sly side of stupid," said Grabke's lawyer, James Brydon.

After Grabke ignored several warnings, Bourget stepped out of his car holding a shotgun, which prompted the teen to drop the bat and run in another direction.

"Alcohol, a baseball bat and an 18-year-old is not a good combination. It could have been a lot worse," said Judge Bernadette Schmaltz, who gave Grabke a conditional discharge.

The sentence means that if Grabke stays out of trouble for the next year, he will not have a criminal record.

Schmaltz also ordered Grabke to perform 100 hours of community service.