A nearly two-year internal investigation into how the military police handled the criminal case of an Air Force officer who committed suicide after being accused of sexual assault has cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing, CBC News. I found out from the report.
A report by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal’s Professional Standards Bureau, dated February 9, 2024, concluded that the accusations from Major Christian Hiestand’s family were “unsubstantiated.”
The officers involved say the investigation was not rushed.
Hiestand was indicted on two counts of sexual assault in late fall 2021, days after his brief and tumultuous relationship with a civilian woman ended.
The charges were filed by military police in Saskatchewan provincial court less than a week after he ended their relationship and less than five days after authorities received a complaint from the civilian woman in question.
CBC News first covered the Hiestand incident 18 months ago.
His family insisted that the military police investigation was expedited. They said investigators did not speak with Hiestand or view two separate text messages he exchanged with a woman accused of sexual assault, information he claimed would exonerate him. He said he did not investigate.
According to his family, military police told Hiestand there was enough evidence to charge him and there was no need to question him.
Hiestand took his own life on January 18, 2022, more than a month after his arrest. A military review board last year found that Hiestand, a pilot instructor at the Air Force Base in Moose Jaw, South Carolina, was considered a “moderate” suicide risk by medical staff but was not formally followed up by his superiors. It was concluded that there were almost no uploads.
Warning: This story contains gory details. The family of Major Christian Hiestand said he was not given a chance to defend himself after being accused of sexual assault and subsequently committed suicide. The Pentagon is currently investigating the actions of the military police who led the investigation into the Hiestand incident. (If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please call Talk Suicide Canada at 1-833-456-4566 or between 4 p.m. and midnight ET. Text 45645.)
The Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC), an independent watchdog, indicated last year that it was prepared to conduct its own investigation into how Mr Hiestand’s case was handled once it completed a review of the military’s professional standards. .
The commission received three complaints. Two of the complaints came from Hiestand’s family, and the third came from a former soldier who was serving in the military police detachment that was in charge of Hiestand’s case at the time.
An internal professional standards review found that Mr Hiestand’s interrogation by military police lasted just over four minutes and was videotaped.
According to a report obtained by CBC News, “investigators observed ‘overwhelming evidence’ from Major Hiestand that would cause a reasonable police officer in similar circumstances to consider not filing charges.” There wasn’t.”
Hiestand “was given multiple opportunities to make statements while in custody and was provided with a means to contact investigators later if he changed his mind,” the newspaper said. But the report acknowledged that his lawyer had instructed him not to make a statement.
The report does not mention, or even mention, the family’s claim that the military police told Hiestand there was enough evidence to bring charges.
Instead, the report states that the investigation continued until almost the moment of Hiestand’s death, and that military officers were investigating the complainant’s phone calls in a “preliminary manner” before ordering a deeper forensic examination of all interactions. It notes that the text messages were examined.
‘This is a snow job,’ says family lawyer
Lt. Col. Jamie Bresolin, a sheriff’s spokesman, defended the investigation, saying investigators concluded they believed they had “reasonable cause to believe that a crime” had been committed, as required by criminal law and case law. .
“Once a police officer has reasonable and probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed, he or she may file charges and then continue the investigation,” he said in an emailed statement.
The internal investigation also does not address another complaint made to the MPCC by a former military police officer that investigators in the Hiestand case allowed an unidentified man to be present during the interrogation of the complainant.
Bresolin said judges can only consider allegations provided during the conduct complaint process.
The family’s lawyer, retired Lt. Col. Rory Fowler, said there were many holes in the internal professional services review.
“It’s a snow job,” he said. “Military police protect themselves and, more importantly, the supposed integrity of the organization by conducting truly superficial inspections from a professional standards standpoint.”
