Out of character

P.E.I. woman sentenced to jail for biting police officer

GEORGETOWN – A P.E.I. woman who bit a police officer after she was told to give a breath sample was sentenced recently to three days in jail for assaulting a peace officer.

Leanne Marie Walters was also handed five days for failing to provide a breath sample and five days for possession of methamphetamines.

The sentences are to be served concurrently, so Walters will only spend five days incarcerated – a collective sentence Chief Judge Nancy Orr noted was on the very low end of the scale for the charges.

The charges in provincial court resulted from the woman’s decision to drive on Aug. 3 in Souris after drinking or, perhaps, while drinking.

Police found a case of beer on the floor of her back seat.

She became agitated after being placed in the back of a police vehicle. She was uncooperative and started cursing at the officers.

Back at the station, Walters refused to give a breath sample. When police tried to restrain her after she knocked a chair out of place, she bit the finger of an officer and continued to berate the police.

Defence lawyer Joel Wonnacott told the court Walters takes responsibility for her actions and has conveyed remorse and embarrassment.

Wonnacott said Walters is a loving mother of two boys and works as a quality control manager at North Lake Fisheries where she is described as having “great potential”.

He said his client has struggled with mental health issues that have been left unchecked and led to substance abuse, adding the woman is highly motivated to deal with her problems.

Orr acknowledged the woman’s actions in early August appear out of character, but stressed Walters must do more to address her issues that led to the criminal behaviour.

Orr ordered Walters to complete 100 hours of community service work and to write a letter of apology to the officer she bit.

She is also prohibited from driving for two years.