Ex-officer’s assault victim spent week in hospital

A former RCMP officer was sentenced to 10 months in jail and two years' probation Thursday for assault causing bodily harm.

A former RCMP officer was sentenced to 10 months in jail and two years’ probation Thursday for assault causing bodily harm.
Marcel Blackwell, 40, has already been in custody for 51 days.
Visiting territorial court Judge Donald Luther granted Blackwell a 1 1/2 credit for time already served, so Blackwell’s total sentence is 10 months minus 77 days.
He was convicted last Monday.
Blackwell attacked Marc Duquette, the husband of his first cousin, outside the Casa Loma bar in Porter Creek last May 25, court heard. The two had had a confrontation in the bar earlier in the evening, according to witnesses.
Diana Rothgeb, a former co-worker of Duquette’s who was also at the Casa Loma that night, testified that Blackwell had asked Duquette to drive downtown and get cocaine for him.
Rothgeb said she intervened because she didn’t want Duquette driving after he’d been drinking.
Later, at around 2:00 the next morning, Rothgeb testified that Duquette left a hotel room where he, Rothgeb, and other friends were drinking.
Sandra Charlie, another witness, testified she was standing outside the Casa Loma waiting for a cab when she saw Duquette leave the building.
She said Blackwell and Duquette started to fight and that ‘Marcel was on top of Marc on the ground. One knee was on his chest and he was punching him.’
During the argument, Blackwell was heard saying that Duquette ‘shouldn’t treat his auntie that way.’
Rothgeb subsequently found Duquette lying on his back in the parking lot with an open cell phone in his hand. She testified that Duquette told her he couldn’t move and had called 911.
As a result of the assault, Duquette was hospitalized for a week, during which time he was unable to walk.
His injuries included black and blue bruising on his face and upper torso, blood clotting, elbow pain, headaches, and the inability to resume work.
Crown prosecutor Jennifer Grandy said Duquette’s financial losses as a result of the assault total $50,000. In a victim impact statement, Duquette wrote he ‘will not be the same person I was before this’ and is no longer able to support his family.
Grandy said Blackwell’s reference to Duquette’s ‘auntie’ during the assault suggests a retaliatory motive.
She added that Blackwell sustained no injuries from the ‘initial provocation’ between the two men and that Blackwell’s response was ‘out of proportion. His temper took over.’
In a letter of apology to Duquette and his wife, Blackwell wrote, ‘I truly hope you recover fully. I hope this doesn’t ruin our family ties.’
Blackwell was born in the Yukon and has lived here for most of his life.
He worked as an RCMP officer in the Yukon from 1987 to 1995. He then worked as a police officer in Alberta until 2000, when he resigned. He then returned to the Yukon in April 2006.
Blackwell has a significant criminal record. It includes convictions of sexual assault, criminal harassment, and uttering threats.
Moreover, Blackwell is already serving a one-year probational period for another assault for which he has been in custody since Sept. 20.
In her submission, defence lawyer Lynn McDiarmid said jail time is ‘quite hard’ for Blackwell. She said that because he is well-known, he is often harassed by other inmates.
However, Grandy countered that jail is a challenging experience for most, if not all inmates.
The conditions of Blackwell’s probation are that he has no contact with Duquette and that he must abstain from alcohol. Blackwell is also under a firearms prohibition.
‘Issues of mental health and anger management have taken over what would otherwise have been a very productive life,’ said Luther.
Blackwell was diagnosed with possible bipolar disorder last August and has been taking Paxil for treatment.