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Ronald Walker was hoping to get paid but instead he says his old boss assaulted him.

“I said, ‘Hey, when are you guys going to pay me?’” recalled Walker. “He pushed me right in the chest with both fists and I went through two doorways, into the bathroom and landed on the shower. He kept at it for a good two to three minutes before he eventually stopped.”

Until a couple of weeks ago, Walker had been planning to testify against Rian Saarloos, operations manager of Sky Freightlines, in an assault trial stemming from the July 25 incident at the Petro Pass Truck Stop in Burnside. Walker said he was shocked to get a call from the Crown attorney’s office in Halifax two weeks ago informing him that the trial scheduled for Tuesday at Dartmouth provincial court had been cancelled and an assault conviction against Saarloos was out of the question.

“They got a hold of me and said we’ve given him a peace bond,” said Walker. “I said, ‘What do you mean? No, no, no!’ It was the first time I heard from them since the incident. They never told me anything.”

The plea bargain was made official in Dartmouth provincial court on Tuesday. Saarloos, the son of former Halifax Regional Police officer Rudi Saarloos Sr., agreed to abide to the peace bond and in exchange the Crown agreed to dismiss the assault charge as well as another mischief charge in connection with the July incident. The peace bond requires Saarloos to stay away from Walker for a 12 month period, but it is not an admission of guilt under the law.

Halifax Regional Police had conducted the investigation and laid the charges against Saarloos. The Chronicle Herald asked Saarloos and his lawyer about the incident and the plea bargain but neither would comment. Sky Freightlines is owned by Rian Saarloos’s brother Rodi Saarloos.

Rian Saarloos sits outside Dartmouth Provincial Court on Tuesday. - Andrew Rankin

The Herald also spoke to an employee at the Burnside truck stop where the alleged assault occurred, who said surveillance cameras captured Saarloos pushing Walker. The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she didn’t witness the assault but saw the footage, which was turned over to Halifax Regional Police. The bathroom of the truck stop where Walker said part of the assault occurred is not camera monitored, said the woman.

Walker, who’s since found work with another trucking company, says he’s still waiting on money owed to him for two long-haul contracts he’d done for the Dartmouth-based company in April and July. He’s since filed a complaint against the company with Employment and Social Development Canada’s labour program, seeking payment of wages, overtime and holiday and vacation pay.

In fact, the alleged assault happened nine days after he filed the complaint on July 16, he said.

The Chronicle Herald obtained a copy of the letter issued by the federal government agency to the company on Oct. 5 requesting he pay the outstanding debt or contest the allegations in writing by Oct. 22.

“I feel like now Saarloos thinks he can beat someone up for complaining about the company and he doesn’t have to worry about it,” said Walker.

Walker also says that two months after the alleged assault he was threatened by both Saarloos brothers.

The first incident involved Rian and unfolded just outside the Sackville Public Library on Sept. 24, said Walker. He said he was walking to the library when he encountered Rian in his black Dodge Ram truck. Rian had the passenger’s side window down and extended his arm at Walker, making a shooting motion. Walker called 911 and reported the incident. But he said no one from the RCMP followed up with him to get more details.

Two days later he said he was tailed by Rian’s brother while driving along Hammonds Plains Road. Again, he said, he called 911 before locating a police car. He said he was able to get the attention of the officer before Rodi left the scene.

Walker said he reported both incidents to the Crown attorney’s office in Halifax but never received a follow up call.

Walker said he was so furious after learning of Saarloos’s plea deal that he demanded to speak to Paul Carver, chief Crown attorney for the Halifax region. That conversation happened last Thursday when Carver repeated the bad news.

“I told him, ‘You have to be kidding me,’” recalled Walker. “I’m sickened by this.”

Senior Crown attorney Rick Hartlen said he couldn’t talk about the plea bargain or the case but said it’s not uncommon for the Crown to resolve common assaults and less serious mischief charges through a peace bond.

“But we don’t publicly divulge the particulars of any circumstance short of the matter either going to a preliminary inquiry, or trial or some other evidentiary hearing,” said Hartlen. “Sometimes it takes an impartial arbitrator to decide what should happen before it gets to trial or a formal hearing. Ultimately, it’s the judge’s decision but before that it’s ours.”

The Chronicle Herald made repeated attempts to reach Saarloos before the provincial court appearance for comment but he did not respond.

Meanwhile, Walker says he still fears for his safety.

“This is a man that has threatened me while he’s ordered to stay away from me,” said Walker. “He’s not going to respect this peace bond.”