WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
The country’s military police control agency is launching its first public interest hearing in more than a decade in an alleged case of negligence that involves an defense intelligence analyst in Ottawa who died from suicide.
A complaint alleges that the Military Police may have played a role in the death of Master Cabo Shaun Orton in April 2024 by not performing social assistance control before and delaying their home and performing first aid.
“The accusations in this complaint are serious,” wrote Guardian Tammy Tremblay in her decision to hold a public hearing.
“If confirmed, they could be equivalent to a verification of well -being in an adequate and timely manner that could have saved a life.”
It is rare that the Complaints of the Military Police (MPCC) celebrate this type of public hearing.
The commission said that despite the repeated attempts during the last year, the Marshal of the Rector of the Canadian forces, an advisor to the main army soldier on police affairs, has not yet revealed the information requested on the case. A public interest hearing gives the Guardian dog the power to convene witnesses to testify and force the military to reveal information, the commission said.
Tremblay also wrote in his decision that this type of hearing can ensure that there are more broad responsibility and systemic problems about the response to suicides.
Orton died after “the challenges of his youth and the demons of his past finally surpassed him,” says his obituary.
It served in the second battalion of the Canadian Light Infantry of Princess Patricia, including a tour in Afghanistan, where she was involved in counterinsurgency operations, according to her LinkedIn.
He later transferred to the intelligence branch in Ottawa as an advisor, said his obituary, and was part of a one -year tour in Kuwait with Operation Impact. The objective of that mission is to build military capabilities in the Middle East.
Orton’s wife filed a complaint with the Guardian dog last year saying that she told the Military Police on April 21, 2024 that her husband was concerned after receiving “disturbing communications” from him.
The complaint alleges that the Military Police “repeatedly dismissed their concerns” and when they finally agreed to verify that her husband was out of her home for 45 minutes before entering, said Tremblay’s decision to carry out a audience of public interest.
The complaint also said that when the Military Police found Orton’s body, they called the Civil Police who discovered that Orton was still alive and first aid began, said Tremblay’s decision.
His wife told the commission that he was transported in ambulance to the hospital where he was declared dead. The Military Police did not go to the hospital or notified Orton’s wife about his death, he told the commission.
The complaint also said that the Military Police missed the suicide note of Orton and could not collect other evidence in the house. Orton’s wife also reported that she struggled to obtain information updates from the Military Police.
“He also noted that the commander officer of the Military Police detachment sent a priest to provide support without asking permission and, although he had announced that he was Jewish,” Tremblay wrote in his decision.
None of the accusations have not been tested in court.
Orton’s spouse also filed a complaint with the Marshal office of the provost of the Canadian forces in June 2024. The office closed the file without investigating and, instead, he said that it would be more appropriate to treat it through an ongoing criminal investigation, Tremlay wrote in his decision.
Tremblay sent a letter saying that a criminal investigation is not a substitute for an investigation into a complaint about the conduct of the military police and urged them to reconsider them. But they refused, Tremblay wrote.
The MPCC said he received confirmation in March that army’s criminal investigation was complete, but the forces have not yet shared documents related to the case. The commission said in the past that the Army cited the ongoing criminal investigation as a reason not to reveal information.
CBC News asked the Department of Defense for the results of criminal investigation and its response to accusations, but has not yet received an answer.
A date for the audience that will be virtual has not yet been published.
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