A Resolute Bay man who fired shots while in a standoff with police has been sentenced to four years in prison.
The man pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm in a manner reckless to the life or safety of another person.
The man, who was 18 at the time of the June 2017 incident, fired several shots from his home, including one while face-to-face with a responding Mountie, all while his two-year-old daughter was inside the residence.
"At one point, (he) and one of the police officers were 30 feet away from each other with nothing between them. (He) had a .22 rifle and the officer had a carbine rifle. (He) fired at the officer. The officer fired back. Both shots missed. (The man) retreated back into the residence, saying that he had reloaded," reads the facts from the case.
Resolute's school was put on lockdown and one of the several stray bullets punctured the fuel tank at a nearby house.
In passing sentence in the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit, Justice Susan Cooper noted that the man was drinking and was feeling depressed as he thought about his former girlfriend, who had committed suicide in an incident involving the firing of shots in the family home. That former girlfriend was the mother of the man's young daughter.
He repeatedly said he was prepared to take his own life during his own ordeal, which he publicized himself by posting occasional commentary to Facebook as it played out over three hours. One post read: "I shot towards the cops."
Cooper, whose decision was circulated to media on Dec. 14, considered several other incidents of Nunavummiut firing at police while arriving her sentence. She sided with the defence lawyer who called for a four-year sentence, as opposed to the five years that the Crown prosecutor recommended.
The man spent 218 days in jail awaiting his sentence and has been credited with 327 days. He had no prior criminal record, he was remorseful for his actions and his prospects for rehabilitation are good, according to Cooper.
A mandatory 10-year firearms prohibition was applied.