Man who struck, killed Saskatchewan conservation officer appeals sentence
REGINA — A man who struck and killed a conservation officer on a Saskatchewan highway says the court didn’t properly consider his background of poverty, abuse in a residential school and struggle with alcohol when he was sentenced.
Blaine Taypotat was given 9 1/2 years for running down Justin Knackstedt in May 2013.
Taypotat’s appeal of his sentence is to be heard Thursday in Regina.
Documents filed by Taypotat’s lawyer argue the trial judge misapplied the Gladue factor, a sentencing principle which requires courts to take into account an indigenous offender’s background.