Alberta man sentenced for pellet gun incident

MAN SHOT BY RCMP APOLOGIZES AT HEARING

A central Alberta man who was shot by RCMP after he pointed what turned out to be a pellet gun at officers apologized in court before being sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Jesse Dyvig, who is 29, pleaded guilty in August to assaulting a police officer and possession of a dangerous weapon.

He is being allowed to serve the sentence two days each week so he can continue working and keep up addiction and mental-health treatment.

Court heard that RCMP had responded to reports of a suicidal man with a gun at an apartment building in Red Deer.

Officers found the man in a second-floor hallway and shot him in the chest when he pointed what appeared to be a revolver at them.

The man had non-lifethreatening injuries and Mounties were cleared of any wrongdoing.

Dyvig later admitted he had consumed six beers that night, taken pain medication and hadn’t slept in several days. He told medical staff at the hospital that he didn’t blame the officer for shooting him and had wished to die.

A psychiatric report concluded the episode was brought on by Dyvig’s alcohol addiction.

During his sentencing hearing on Monday, court heard Dyvig has been taking steps to get his life together. He has sought treatment for alcohol and drug addictions, found a new place to live and has a part-time job.

He has also started rebuilding his relationship with his parents and has a new girlfriend.

Dyvig faces 18 months of probation once he completes his sentence and will have to abstain from alcohol and nonprescription drugs.

He has also been given a three-year firearms ban and ordered to submit a DNA sample.