COEUR d’ALENE — A Kootenai County prosecutor asked the court Tuesday to impose a harsher sentence on a Coeur d’Alene couple because they contacted the media after being accused of fighting with police.

Deputy prosecutor Art Verharen said Harrison McLean, an Army veteran and Special Forces soldier, and his wife, Lindsay, who were both convicted in September by a Coeur d’Alene jury for assaulting police, should be sent to prison because they contacted news outlets and shared video footage of their arrest after a scuffle with officers more than a year ago at Kootenai Health.

“They sought out reporters. They attempted to influence a jury and influence you,” Verharen told the court.

By providing the media with hospital surveillance footage of the incident, the couple tried to manipulate the justice system, Verharen said.

“This kind of conduct warrants punishment,” he said.

Defense attorney Erik Smith waived off the prosecution’s claim. Publicizing their case by distributing the footage should have no bearing on how someone is sentenced for a criminal conviction, Smith said.

“That’s wholly inappropriate for sentencing here,” he said.

First District Judge Cynthia K.C. Meyer sentenced Harrison Mclean to a withheld judgment, three years probation, 20 days in jail, 20 shifts on the sheriff’s labor program and 200 hours community service. The judge’s decision to withhold judgment means, if Harrison adheres to the conditions of his probation and completes the other parts of his sentence, the charge against him could be dismissed.

Meyer sentenced Lindsey Mclean to a three-year suspended sentence, 30 days in jail, 20 shifts on the sheriff’s labor program and 200 hours community service. Both of the defendents were ordered to pay a $2,500 fine.

The McLeans were convicted by a jury of felony assault on police after a fracas in August 2017 at Kootenai Health where the couple had gone to seek treatment for Harrison McLean, a U.S. Army Green Beret and National Guardsman who suffered extreme stomach pain.

Hospital personnel called police after Lindsay McLean drove the couple’s Toyota the wrong way into an emergency department entrance that was under construction — accusing her of being drunk. Lindsay was later convicted of misdemeanor DUI. When police arrived at the hospital, Lindsay struggled with them as they tried to arrest her for DUI. She claimed she did not know they were police because they did not identify themselves, and she attempted to call authorities on a cellphone as the scuffle progressed.

Harrison McLean tackled an officer when police pushed his wife over a row of chairs.

The Mcleans refused plea bargains in the case — because they said police had no probable cause and were overly aggressive.

At Tuesday’s hearing Meyer said there was no reason to protect society from Harrison McLean, a U.S. Army staff sergeant, because he had spent most of his life protecting society. The judge blamed his wife for the incident that unfolded and its result.

“In my view everything that happened that night was your fault,” Meyer told Lindsay McLean. “Your attitude … was abominable.”

Lindsay Mclean had bullied hospital staff, the judge said, and wouldn’t listen to police.

“Your conduct was reprehensible,” Meyer said, noting that the jury must have felt the same way.

In addition to the sentence, Meyer ordered that Harrison McLean be prohibited from being around firearms, “chemical weapons, explosives or any weapon … and not reside at any location where weapons are present.”

The sentence, she understood, could prevent him from further military service.