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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife man was sentenced to 90 days in jail after he was convicted of assaulting his grown son and two RCMP officers.

The 63-year-old man pleaded guilty to one count of assault and one count of assaulting a peace officer after a dispute over blankets broke out on Dec. 28, 2008.

Crown prosecutor Roger Shepard said a woman called police as her boyfriend was being choked by his father.

The man tried to pull blankets off the couple as they were watching a movie.

They didn't want the blankets pulled off, said Shepard, and then the man jumped on his son and began to choke him.

When police arrived at the home in Ndilo, the woman and her boyfriend - the convicted man's son - were prevented from opening the door by the father.

He pushed the woman to the ground while trying to keep RCMP out.

"The accused pushed (an RCMP officer)," said Shepard, adding the man also struck a second officer on scene. Pepper spray was used on the man as he "continued to struggle," said Shepard.

They were eventually able to get the man to the ground and place him under arrest.

Shepard said the man has a criminal record with numerous convictions for crimes of violence. Before sentencing, the man told the court his wife and mother had died in recent years and he had trouble controlling his three children, all in their 20s.

"They don't listen to me any more," he said. "I couldn't handle them by myself."

"Violence wasn't going to get you anywhere," said Judge Bernadette Schmaltz.

Speaking about the assault on the two officers, she said "the RCMP shouldn't have to put up with that."

The convicted man's 90 days in jail are to be served on weekends, as requested by defence lawyer Garrett O'Brien.

He was also given one year of probation and must seek and actively maintain employment.