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Man gets five-year sentence for assaulting officer outside Walmart

Northern Alberta man pleads guilty to 2020 assault that saw him beat RCMP officer with her own baton.
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BONNYVILLE, Alta. – A man charged of beating a Cold Lake peace officer with her own baton, has been convicted of that crime in a St. Paul Courtroom on Aug. 5, and was given a five-year sentence. 

Bonnyville resident Travis Peter Slipchuk was 44 years old at the time of the violent altercation with an RCMP member that occurred in the parking lot of a Cold Lake Walmart on July 7, 2020. 

Following the incident and his arrest, Slipchuk faced 24 criminal code charges including attempted murder, theft/attempted theft of a weapon from a peace officer (x2), assault with a weapon, theft of vehicle (x4), failure to comply with a probation order (x2) and failure to comply with a release order. 

On April 27, Slipchuk entered guilty pleas to charges of assault on a peace officer/wound, two counts of robbery and flight from police. 

After subtracting 1,389 days in credit for time spent in pre-trial custody, Slipchuk has 436 days left to serve. 

He was also ordered to submit a DNA sample for the national DNA databank and prohibited for life from possessing any weapons. Also, the Bonnyville resident has been banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution.

2020 incident 

The assault that occurred in 2020, began after an RCMP member with the Cold Lake detachment spotted a stolen vehicle in a Walmart parking lot at 5:30 p.m. and attempted to arrest the male suspect. 

The man, later identified as Slipchuk, repeatedly punched the officer in the head, took her baton and struck her in the head several times. 

An eyewitness that spoke to media and police following the attack said the officer was beaten for “at least two minutes” before she managed to get back on her feet.  

The officer then reached for her baton, which was taken from her by Slipchuk and used against her, according to the eyewitness, who has not been publicly identified for concern of retribution. 

At that point, the eyewitness recalled that the officer fell back down and was then beaten with her own baton. 

Eventually, a male bystander approached while yelling at the perpetrator to stop.  

Slipchuk then fled with the RCMP member’s baton, which was later recovered from the Chevrolet Trailblazer that he stole in an attempt to escape police apprehension.  

Cold Lake RCMP initiated a pursuit and managed to disable the stolen Trailblazer. Slipchuk was arrested on scene without further incident. 

The RCMP member was treated at the hospital for serious, but non-life-threatening injuries and recovered at home.

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