Swinging a shovel at a cop and escaping custody earned Roy Buyck 18 months of house arrest in a sentence handed down last Thursday in Mayo.

Under the conditional sentence, Buyck, 51, will be allowed to go to work and have a 10 p.m. curfew after the first six months.

Last January, Justice Scott Brooker convicted Buyck of assault with a weapon and escaping from lawful custody.

At that time, Brooker said he did not believe Buyck's story that he was attempting to protect himself when RCMP Const. Rollie Smith tried to arrest him for driving under the influence on Dec. 10, 2005.

That night, Buyck was stopped by Smith for cutting a corner while driving home from a friend's house in Mayo. Smith had been doing stop checks in the small Yukon community.

After smelling marijuana smoke in Buyck's vehicle, Smith attempted to arrest Buyck.

But Buyck, who was initially co-operative with Smith, insisted the smell was left over from earlier that night when some friends had been toking up and blew smoke on him.

However, Smith wasn't convinced by the story and proceeded with the arrest. It's at this point that the officer's and driver's version of events differ.

During Buyck's January trial, he testified that after stepping out of the truck, the officer grabbed his arm and tried to twist it behind his back.

It was then that Buyck wriggled free and called out for his sister, who lived across the street from where he and Smith were standing.

When he did that, Buyck testified, the officer pulled out a can of pepper spray and "maced" him.

Buyck said he then grabbed a shovel from his truck and held it in front of his face to protect himself before being tackled to the ground by Smith.

According to Buyck, Smith went for his gun. That's when Buyck, now missing his glasses and a shoe, jumped into his truck and fled.

But Smith told the court Buyck went straight for the shovel after breaking free and it wasn't until Buyck brandished the shovel "like a baseball bat" that Smith pulled out his pepper spray.

According to Smith, Buyck swung the shovel and Smith unloaded his canister of pepper spray. When no man met their mark, Smith ran at Buyck, knocking him over and causing his shoe and glasses to come off.

Smith said Buyck then stood up, threw off his jacket, picked up the shovel again and started calling for his sister. The officer testified he instructed Buyck to "Back off, Sir!" several times, but Buyck kept coming so Smith reached for his gun.

He agreed that was when Buyck jumped in his truck and drove off. Some hours later, Buyck turned himself in at the police detachment.

In addition to the 18-month conditional sentence for assault, Brooker also sentenced Buyck to another two months, also conditional, for escaping arrest . Both are to be served concurrently, followed by one year's probation.

• With files by Justine Davidson.