Conduct Case MPCC‑2006‑022 Summary

The complaint’s allegations related to the handling of an assault allegation against the complainant. It had been alleged that the complainant assaulted his estranged spouse in the parking lot of her residence on September 17, 2001. The estranged wife’s friend reported the allegation to the complainant’s chain of command the next day.

On September 24, 2001, the estranged spouse made a formal complaint of assault against the complainant to the local Military Police Detachment. Her complaint, however, did not mention any assault taking place on September 17, 2001. A Corporal at the MP Detachment was assigned to the file and he commenced an investigation. On September 25, 2001, local MP detachment members took a sworn and videotaped statement from the estranged spouse. An MP Captain (a subject of the complaint) administered the oath required for the statement. In her statement, the complainant’s estranged spouse talked about various times that she had been assaulted, threatened and harassed by the complainant, but she did not mention anything in relation to an alleged assault of September 17, 2001. Thus, no charges were ever laid in relation to that alleged assault.

However, based upon the Military Police investigation and the statement given by the estranged spouse, the complainant was arrested on September 25, 2001 for assaulting his estranged spouse in March of 2000. Following a review of the case by the Crown prosecutor, he was ultimately charged with assault, criminal harassment, and uttering threats. On September 19, 2002, subsequent to a plea agreement, he entered a plea of guilty to the charge of criminal harassment.

In December of 2002, the estranged spouse’s friend commenced a harassment complaint against the complainant. The complainant then requested disclosure of the documentation supporting the harassment complaint. As a result of this disclosure, he became aware of the September 17, 2001 assault allegation. The complainant subsequently complained to MPs that the September 18, 2001 report of an assault against the complainant’s estranged spouse was false.

The complainant also contended that the subject MP Captain, had previously been aware of the September 18, 2001 assault allegation but failed to disclose certain information relating to this alleged incident. He felt that the subject member’s failure to disclose could have affected the outcome of his court case surrounding the March 2000 incident that led to his conviction.

The complainant’s allegations against his estranged spouse’s friend led to a CFNIS investigation. The investigator was mandated to investigate whether or not the friend had committed public mischief by reporting the September 17, 2001 assault allegation, knowing that the assault did not happen. In November 2003, the investigator concluded that no charges were warranted against the complainant’s estranged spouse’s friend.

Upon reviewing the CFNIS’s investigation of the estranged spouse’s friend, the complainant, on January 7, 2004, made a conduct complaint consisting of three separate allegations:

  1. that the subject Captain of the local Military Police Detachment withheld evidence;
  2. that the subject CFNIS investigator failed to report information he had learned in his investigation; and,
  3. that various members of the local MP detachment failed to act on various complaints put forth by himself.

DPM PS investigated these allegations and concluded that none of the allegations made by the complainant were supported. On July 4th, 2006 the complainant requested a review of the entire matter by the Complaints Commission.

After a review of all relevant information received from the CFPM and interviews done by MPCC investigators, the Chair found that for allegation “a”, the subject MP Captain had no knowledge of the September 17, 2001 assault allegation. As for allegation “b”, the CFNIS’ investigation was complete, thorough, objective and professional and that the subject investigator had not received any information about the alleged assault from the subject MP Captain. Finally, as for allegation “c”, the MPCC found no MP records of any complaints made by the complainant against his estranged spouse.

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