The police summary states, on July 6 Clark arrived home from the pub just after 3am heavily intoxicated and loud.
His partner asked him to quieten down as he would wake their young baby.
Police prosecutor Garry Wilson said he became louder, yelling at the woman about her ex-husband and how her mother was poisoning her against him.
As the woman headed back to her bedroom, Clark followed "ranting" and threw a biscuit at the wall and threatening to throw a cellphone away - which the woman took from him.
Thinking she had thrown it outside, he went outside and she closed the door behind him "in the hope he would calm down", the court heard.
Yelling at her to open the door, he kicked the lower panel of the door, putting a hole in it and reached in, unlocking the door.
While the victim was calling police, he continued to "rant and rave" and went into the baby's room trying to pull the baby out of bed. The woman grabbed the baby and as she was talking to police, he grabbed her around the chest area below the neck and pushed her onto the bed, the court heard.
Clark then put his hand inside the woman's bra and "grabbing her nipple and twisted it so hard [she] thought he would tear the nipple off", almost dropping the child from her clutch, Mr Wilson said.
Police told her to leave and they arrived to her trying to do so and a heavily intoxicated Clark still verbally abusing her, waving his arms in her face and abusing her for calling them.
Clark was arrested but during the trip to Palmerston North, the patrol car broke down at the entrance to the Manawatu Gorge. As they waited for a tow truck, he tried to escape from the car and finding the kiddy-lock on, lunged forward and put the constable in a headlock.
Ms Elder pleaded to the court not to send Clark to prison as he was now "moving forward" positively.
"He is viewed as a good worker. That job shows real change and will make a difference for him ... the recommendation of imprisonment means he will lose his job. If that happens things will unravel for him."
Home Detention wasn't an option as it could become a "pressure cooker" situation for the couple, she said.
"That job means everything to him. He seems to be doing really well ... it would relieve the pressure and give breathing space to the partner and the child ... he deserves a chance. He has expressed remorse."
Judge Walsh noted Clark's partner wanted to support him but he clearly had drug and alcohol issues which needed addressing.
"He does need some help ... I'm not minimising the gravity of the offending. It's the first time in a long time he has some positive things going on in his life."
Clark was sentenced to 150 hours' community work and 12 months' intensive supervision with instructions to attend stop violence, drug and alcohol programmes.
