Assailant ordered to pay $3,000 to doctor
A Whitehorse man has been sentenced to three months in jail after knocking out a Burwash Landing doctor.
A Whitehorse man has been sentenced to three months in jail after knocking out a Burwash Landing doctor.
The physician had been trying to calm down the man while he was shouting at an ex-girlfriend.
Corey Curtis Pope was sentenced in May in Yukon Supreme Court after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault.
According to court documents released this week, Pope, his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Sheperd, and Dr. Graham Henderson were all attending a community event in Burwash Landing on Feb. 25, 2011 when Pope accused Sheperd of becoming involved with another man.
He then angrily left the event and headed back to his hotel in Destruction Bay.
Not long after, both Sheperd and Henderson were also heading back to their own hotel rooms, the court documents say.
Pope was at the hotel, banging on doors, looking for the man he believed Sheperd was now in a relationship with.
He was told to leave by others, but did not.
"Instead, he again began accusing Ms. Sheperd,” Justice Donna Martinson said in the decision.
"Dr. Henderson opened his door and tried to calm him down. Mr. Pope, without any provocation, turned and punched Dr. Henderson in the head, knocking him unconscious.”
Henderson, who is in his 60s and has worked in rural medicine for many years, remained on the ground for several minutes.
He was eventually medevaced to Whitehorse for treatment.
He received three stitches in his lip and now has limited feeling in the area.
He was also unsteady on his feet for months and will require more than $20,000 in dental work, the document says.
Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of two years' incarceration.
In her decision, Martinson said she would normally have imposed the two-year sentence if it were not for the fact that this is Pope's first offence.
He also has close ties in the community, is remorseful and is unlikely to do it again, she said.
Pope has also been ordered to pay Henderson $3,000.
Once he is released, he will be on probation for two years.
Comments (14)
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...and the cycle continues... on Jul 14, 2012 at 1:51 am
Even more disturbing than the evidence presented in this case is knowing there are people out there walking our streets who have lived a life so dysfunctional that they actually believe such behaviour is normal.
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heather kerr on Jul 14, 2012 at 1:03 am
He does not need a break, a 60 yr old was victimized, because of this mans temper, not thinking before doing something so unacceptable.
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north_of_60 on Jul 13, 2012 at 8:18 am
Why didn't a few of the good citizens in the community give Mr Pope a well deserved 'blanket party'?
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Terrahawk on Jul 13, 2012 at 5:37 am
On the other side of that thoughtful argument Benita is the fact that he knocked out a 60 something year old man... But who am I to judge?
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Get Real...there is no excuse for violence. on Jul 13, 2012 at 4:49 am
Benita...wow.
You are doing Corey no favours by standing behind him and defending his actions.
Doctors take an oath, to do no harm, to help people, ALL people, to not judge, to be in service to humanity, and hold special obligations to his follow human beings.
He is a known Doctor,a respected Doctor on the North Highway, and the loss of him and his services affected a great many people.
So yes, people that attack Doctors, Nurses, Police Officers,people who work to serve humanity, the elderly, the infirm,etc.
Yes, those violent people need to be made known on the front page of the paper.
Corey Pope attacked someone because of his own insecurities, because he thought that his EX-girlfriend was stepping out (Ex or not does not does not make a difference when it comes to being violent). He was attempting to be a controlling, intimidating force, and that 60 year old Doctor was the only one there who tried to diffuse the situation.
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Benita Sarana on Jul 12, 2012 at 8:16 am
I've known Corey for over 20 years and I can personally say I have nothing bad to say about the guy. This was also his first offence so more jail time is a joke. Maybe the courts and RCMP should focus on all the drug dealers in town, these people ruin lives. And Corey lost his temper once and your making it sound like he's some horrible person. Another thing I would like to know is if Corey had randomly punched an average working person, would it have made front page of the newspaper? I think not. So just because a doctor got punched everyone's crying and having hissy fits. Seriously find something better to waste your energy on people. Think about it.....in your life have you ever done something without thinking it through and regreting it? He got caught while others haven't. It's really unfortunate that this did happen but really give the guy a break.
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knowalittlemore on Jul 10, 2012 at 11:45 am
First off, Anonymous, you obviously have no clue to life outside of a city. If you did or cared to look at a map, you`d see Dbay is an hour away from the RCMP in Haines Junction, who don`t get me wrong, are phenomenal.While waiting for them to make the hour trip, small rural remote communities help one another. As for your dental diagnosis, I think you need to go visit a dentist. That is pretty standard.
Secondly, what saddens me is how his (Corey Pope`s) past history appears not to have been brought into this court case. The fact that he chose to attack our local doctor who has never done anything but help us, treat everyone as a friend and equal, well just goes to show the low life we all know him to be. While I appreciate our legal system, sometimes the inability to allow a person`s past history even if it has never resulted in criminal charges before due to attempting to try to solve it another way, the result is a far cry from what a person with Corey Pope`s history deserves.
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glenis allen on Jul 10, 2012 at 4:31 am
I have known Dr. Henderson for many years and have nothing but respect for him as a person and as a physician. He has often gone out of his way to give people a helping hand.
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Bugs on Jul 6, 2012 at 6:11 pm
2 years, $3.000 & 2 years probation? No matter who was the recipient of Corey's rage, this was physical abuse. Not even the thin end of the wedge; it needs to be recognised that history has shown an abusive personality is just that, and more will follow. The courts need to jump on this. Graham Henderson has been the well respected backbone of medical care on North Alaska Highway for years and did not deserve this. He will probably recover from the limited feeling in his lip, but $20,000 in dental work must mean extensive crown and bridge work to repair and replace missing teeth. The cost is not exhorbitant for this work. Just because Graham is in his 60s does not mean he doesn't have a right to a full smile. Would you have confidence in a gummy Dr?The $3,000 recovery is a joke and wouldn't even cover a full set of dentures! Those of us who have administered health care on the highways know the accepted risks, but abuse is not normally one of them.
Short fuse on physical abuse.
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matt novak on Jul 6, 2012 at 3:02 am
Only three months in jail for knocking a 60 year old doctor out?
That is disgustingly shameful. If I ever saw someone do this to a doctor/nurse/firefighter there would be no call to the RCMP, in fact there would be no more Mr. Corey, pope to worry about.
My girlfriend of 6 years is starting college to become a registered nurse this fall, I despise people who would hurt those who go so far out of their way to help. I can't imagine the doctor was in Burwash for fun, this is unacceptable the way he was treated before, during and after the case.
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bobby bitman on Jul 6, 2012 at 2:09 am
3 months in jail for punching someone in the face in a jealous rage? Imagine what he would have done to his girlfriend.
Corey Curtis Pope had no claim of ownership over the woman who he had branded 'his girlfriend'. Whether she had become involved with someone else or not, his behaviour was outrageous right from the start when he was shouting at her at a community event. That in itself was a form of violence and the police should have been called to take this madman away at that time. But no, somehow screeching at a woman that she has broken her shackles is okay, until it results in her or someone else being punched in the face.
Recognize violence when it starts!
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Guncache on Jul 6, 2012 at 12:56 am
Poor Mr. Pope. I am so sorry you have to go to the new Whitehorse Hilton. I am sure that it is societies fault and not yours that you knocked out an older man who is going to have to pay out of his pocket $20,000- for dental work. People like you should not be free to roam in society with the rest of us. The only thing you are sorry about is getting caught.
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Brenda Dion on Jul 5, 2012 at 3:06 pm
I really don't understand this judgement....$3000 for being knocked unconscious, medivacced, unsteady on feet for months, $20,000 in dental work, loss of feeling?
I must be missing something?
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anonymous on Jul 5, 2012 at 8:37 am
$20000 in dental work!!! No one NEEDS $20000 in dental work.
Before you get involved think twice. Is it worth risking your life? That is what the police are for.
Everyone should take care of themselves and rely on law enforcement to do their job.