A young Port Alberni man was given an absolute discharge after being found guilty of hitting a police officer and resisting arrest.
26-year old Kerry Hlatky intervened in an altercation at the Thunder in the Valley event in 2018.
When police showed up to deal with a complaint, Hlatky told people they didn’t have to speak to police. When officers ordered him away, he refused, which led to an altercation and his arrest for obstruction.
Judge Alexander Wolf noted Hlatky was 24 at the time, under the influence of alcohol, and with no criminal record and letters of community support, agreed to the discharge, but demanded he pay a thousand dollar fine before leaving court Friday.
