An RCMP member who assaulted a handcuffed and intoxicated prisoner received a nine-month conditional discharge Friday in Yukon territorial court.

That means that if he abides by the probation conditions set out by the court during the next nine months, he won’t have a criminal record.

On Aug. 26, 2015, Jason Potter, 38, pleaded guilty to assaulting Duke Beattie the night of the previous May 15.

The court in Carcross heard that on that day, the officer flew into a rage when the man he was transporting from Carcross to the Whitehorse Correctional Centre threatened his family.

Potter stopped the RCMP cruiser, got out, opened the passenger door and jumped on Beattie.

The assault lasted 38 seconds.

Crown and defence lawyers couldn’t come to an agreement on what exactly happened.

Crown prosecutor Peter LaPrairie argued the officer had choked and punched Beattie.

Defence co-counsel John Cliffe would only admit there had been an assault, but no definitive proof of either choking or punching.

The evidence comes from the police cruiser’s video cameras that recorded the incident and a sworn affidavit provided by Const. Dan Rouleau, the other officer in the police car at the time of the assault.

The rear camera showed Potter’s back while he was on top of Beattie.

It will be up to the judge to decide what exactly occurred.

Potter himself reported the assault, and charges were laid shortly after.

The Crown was seeking a 12-month suspended sentence.

A suspended sentence would not have seen Potter serve time in jail, but he would have had a criminal record. A conditional or absolute discharge don’t result in a criminal record.

The defence asked for an absolute discharge.

Cliffe emphasized the difficulties of being a police officer in Carcross.

The members live with their families right next to the people they have to deal with in a policing capacity, he said.

Tensions were high prior to May 15, 2015, he told the court.

Both Rouleau and Potter obtained a special authorization to bring their RCMP handguns home because they feared for their safety.

The RCMP installed video monitoring systems at their homes. Potter’s home was fenced.

In his affidavit, Rouleau said he would sometimes answer the door with his gun hidden behind his back because he feared for his personal safety and his family.

Potter’s physical and mental health were declining at the time of the assault, Cliffe said.

He didn’t realize the effects it had on him until the assault.

Potter has also engaged in counselling since he was first charged, his lawyer noted.

His probation condition requires him to continue the counselling for the next nine months.

Cliffe also told the court that Potter had already been disciplined by an internal code of conduct hearing the RCMP conducted.

The sentence was “severe,” the lawyer noted.

“He was already penalized for the breach of trust,” Cliffe said.

Court documents show that Yukon RCMP gave Potter a 20-day forfeiture of pay. He won’t be eligible for promotion for the next two years, and he won’t be able to return to Carcross.

He also had to send Beattie an apology.

The threats against his wife pushed him over the edge, his lawyer argued.

It was rage – not “backstreet justice against the local crime lord.”

The judge concurred with that description.

“Constable Potter ‘losing it’ doesn’t do justice to what you hear on the tape and the emotion, and the pitch of his voice, and what he is saying,” Judge Heino Lilles said.

Potter himself addressed the court.

“I wish I could take it back,” the man said.

“I sincerely regret what I did to Mr. Beattie.”

He went on to say he felt he let down his family, his fellow officers, the RCMP and the community of Carcross.

“I’m sorry.”

Potter is a junior member of the force, with no criminal record.

He has wanted to take responsibility for his crime from the very beginning, Cliffe said.

He also noted that Beattie admitted to being drunk and that “his behaviour may have been inappropriate.”

Finally, having Potter come to Carcross for a two-day hearing by itself is deterrence and denunciation – two of the core sentencing principles judges have to look at – Cliffe said.

LaPrairie opposed the absolute discharge.

“This is a small northern community,” he said.

“There are issues in these communities in how policing takes place.”

The criteria for a discharge is that it’d be in the accused best interest and the public interest.

That also means maintaining the public’s confidence in the justice system, he said.

Part of that confidence is knowing that some actions will result in a criminal record.

There is also the aggravating factor in this case as there was a breach of trust by Potter since he is a police officer, LaPrairie said.

It’s not relevant that Beattie was well-known to the system, he acknowledged.

LaPrairie said he told the defence early on he wouldn’t be seeking a jail sentence. However, he said, courts have established that police officers should be treated more severely than regular citizens when facing criminal charges.

The assault wasn’t minor, he said, even though Beattie suffered no lasting injuries.

“No assault by a police officer on a person in their custody is a minor assault,” the judge noted.

Today, Whitehorse RCMP told the Star that Potter has returned to duty, but not in Carcross.

“He was assigned to administrative duties pending the statutory and conduct processes, and has recently been posted to our Relief Unit out of Whitehorse,” said RCMP spokesperson David Gilbert.

The two-day sentencing hearing took place in Carcross.

The Star accessed audio recording of the proceedings.

Judge Lilles rendered his decision Friday morning, saying he will release his reasons later on.

“There is a responsibility to try to explain to this community what happened and why it happened and why the court responded the way it did,” he said.

A charge of uttering threats was dropped by the Crown.

Potter also received a $100-victim fine surcharge.