Watchdog condemns military suicide probe
Shortcomings of investigators ‘serious, obvious, inexcusable,’ commissioner’s report says
OTTAWA— The mother of a soldier who committed suicide is calling for an overhaul of the military justice system after an independent watchdog condemned the military’s probe of his death, saying it was marked by rookie mistakes, a lack of respect to the parents and an overall “lack of professionalism.”
And Sheila Fynes condemned the government’s “condescending and arrogant” response to the recommendations meant to improve military police investigations.
“It’s been really, really tough. We’ve had to fight every step of the way,” an emotional Fynes told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Just hours earlier, the Military Police Complaints Commission had released a three-volume,1,008-page report into the actions of the military police following the suicide of her son Cpl. Stuart Langridge, in March, 2008.
Its findings, made after a lengthy hearing, painted a troubling picture of a military police that lacks basic investigative abilities — and appears unwilling to acknowledge its own failings.
“The deficiencies were serious, obvious and inexcusable,” the report found.
Yet the military’s lukewarm response to the report, rejecting almost three-quarters of the 46 recommendations, highlights an “unwillingness or inability by the military police to recognize and address its own shortcomings,” the report says.
Langridge, an Afghanistan veteran, took his life in his barracks room at the Canadian Armed Forces base in Edmonton.
The lead military investigator had never done a death investigation or even attended a death scene. His immediate supervisor had never done one either. They didn’t understand how to handle items taken at the scene, showing an “alarming lack of understanding of the law of search and seizure,” the commission found.
The military police failed to interview witnesses and obtain relevant records.
“Some of the deficiencies in the investigations were sufficiently egre- gious to put in question the skills and professionalism of the members involved,” the report found.
The report says the family was not treated with respect or consideration. “They were often ignored and the information provided to them was at best inadequate and at worse potentially misleading,” the report said,
The poor treatment of the parents was underscored by the military’s decision to withhold Langridge’s suicide note for 14 months. It had been placed in an evidence bag — and forgotten about.
“The shocking failure to inform the Fynes about the existence or contents of the suicide note was . . . inexcusable,” the report found.
The exhaustive report is evidence that the military justice needs a “complete revamp,” Fynes said.
“This report also demonstrates that these investigations are led by incompetent persons and are mired with procedural deficiencies, which the military refused to acknowledge and correct,” she said.
As a result, she says non-combat military deaths should be investigated by civilian coroner and policing agencies, who have the expertise in dealing with such tragedies.
She wants to meet with Defence Minister Jason Kenney to discuss the changes she thinks are needed.
“That would go a long way for us because then we would know people are finally listening and they really do genuinely care about their troops,” Fynes said.
Col. Rob Delaney, the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and commander of the Canadian Forces military police, apologized to the Fynes for the flawed investigations.
“Our investigations failed to live up to their expectations. For that I’m deeply sorry,” Delaney told reporters.
And he said the decision to withhold the suicide note was “unforgivable. Again, I offer a sincere apology.”
Delaney denied the commission’s assertion that the military police had rejected many of the recommendations. Instead, he said the commission had “identified a number of mistakes that we need to learn from.
“I’m going to be carefully reviewing every recommendation put before us,” Delaney said.
He said in the seven years since Langridge’s death, the military police have investigated some 175 other sudden deaths in Canada and abroad and said the experience level within the ranks has “increased considerably.”
The military originally tried to keep its response to the recommendations secret and out of the public eye, and only backed down last Friday after the commission launched court action.