Watch above: Blaine Taypotat is heading to jail after a judge handed down a 9.5 year sentence in the drunk driving death of a conservation officer. Amber Rockliffe says Justin Knackstedt’s family, friends and coworkers filled the courtroom to hear today’s decision.
SASKATOON – A man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a Saskatchewan conservation officer will spend the next six-and-a-half years in prison. A judge sentenced Blaine Taypotat to nine-and-a-half years minus time served on Friday after he pleaded guilty last December to manslaughter and impaired driving causing death after Justin Knackstedt was run down on May 31, 2013.
Knackstedt, 23, and a colleague had stopped to help first responders with traffic control while they were dealing with a crash on Highway 11 south of Saskatoon.
On that fateful day, Taypotat had been drinking after learning of his cousin’s death. He was driving from Regina to Saskatoon for the funeral when RCMP received a call that an SUV was driving erratically toward the crash scene.
When an officer approached the vehicle, the driver sped through the crash site and ran over Knackstedt, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Taypotat continued driving until his car rolled into a ditch near the interchange of Highways 11 and 16.
The Crown was looking for a 10-year sentence while the defence argued for an eight-year prison term.
READ MORE: How is a Gladue report used in criminal sentencing of aboriginals
A Gladue report was commissioned, which focuses on an aboriginal offender’s upbringing and is presented to the court before sentencing occurs.
Comments