After the Crown failed to convince a judge to remand a man into custody for a mental health evaluation on Tuesday, the accused was released on bail with a 30-day psychiatric assessment order in hand.

Deputy Judge Dennis Overend said he rejected the Crown's request for Daniel Thomas Gribben, 41, to be held in custody for a six-day assessment under the Mental Health Act at Whitehorse General Hospital because it hadn't been proved Gribben wasn't volunteering for the evaluation.

The six-day remand under the Mental Health Act is an involuntary one.

As Overend adjourned the early-afternoon hearing for a bail hearing in three days' time, Gribben's wife broke into sobs and was heard saying her husband needs to go to hospital.

Later in the afternoon, when the matter was brought back to court, duty counsel Bob Dick asked for a 30-day order for a psychiatric assessment under the Criminal Code.

Because the defence does not have to prove what the Crown is required to, the judge approved the request.

Gribben was released on bail with two sureties and is to live under house arrest unless accompanied by a list of named people. He was ordered to undergo the 30-day mental health examination as an outpatient at Mental Health Services.

Details outlined in court of the allegations against Gribben are protected by a publication ban, but police reported earlier that Const. Brendon Dolan was assaulted Friday afternoon when he approached a man behind Boston Pizza. Police had been called because a witness thought the man was behaving suspiciously.

A struggle ensued, and the suspect was arrested when Const. Cameron Long arrived. He is accused of providing a false name to Long.

When Gribben made his first appearance in a Whitehorse courtroom Saturday morning on charges of assaulting a police officer and obstructing police, a justice of the peace ordered that the man undergo a medical exam.

In court Tuesday, prosecutor Kevin Drolet said despite 'diligent requests' by the Justice Department, no doctor attended to conduct the examination.

Though Whitehorse Correctional Centre has three physicians and a psychiatrist on contract to provide medical services, those doctors attend the jail on Wednesdays only, except in emergencies, a Justice Department spokesman said today.

In court Tuesday, Drolet pointed to an affidavit from the head of Adult Probations, which outlined the details of the charges against Gribben as well as the 'peculiar circumstances' of the man's mental state observed by RCMP officers.

As well, Gribben had refused to co-operate with the probation officer who interviewed him at the jail for a bail assessment report.

It was on that basis that the Crown argued Gribben was unwilling to be examined, but Overend said that's not enough.

It seems the Crown's application for a six-day assessment is simply before the court because the Corrections department couldn't get a physician to come to WCC, said Overend.

The judge later explained that to order a person into custody for a mental health examination is an intrusive order, and that a doctor's opinion is needed before that step is taken.

Dick had told the court he had no position on the Crown's request for the involuntary examination in custody. He later explained that if his client had agreed to the assessment, the involuntary criteria for granting the order would be null.

Overend said he believed the other criteria for the six-day order, that Gribben was or had behaved violently and was likely to hurt himself or others, had been met.

Earlier, Overend rejected the Crown's request that Gribben be shackled for the court appearance because he was 'agitated.'

Defence opposed that application.

Gribben is scheduled to be back in court July 23.