In the weeks before the day he took his own life, Major Cristian Hiestand, a Canadian air force officer, told his family that no one would listen to him. The pilot instructor, Afghanistan war veteran and career military man was charged with two counts of sexual assault last fall — days after he ended a turbulent, short-term relationship with a civilian. The charges against Hiestand were laid by military police in provincial court in Saskatchewan less than a week after he ended his relationship and within five days of authorities receiving a complaint from the citizen in question. The attorney now acting for Hiestand’s family — retired Lt. Col. Rory Fowler, a former military attorney now in private practice — said Hiestand was never interviewed before being charged. Fowler said Histad asked the military police officer leading the investigation if he could explain his side of the story and show her a text exchange between himself and the complainant — material he believed would provide more context and supported his claim of innocence. The officer refused, and Hiestand was told deputies didn’t need to interview him as “… they had all the evidence they needed to prosecute him,” Fowler said.
“I’m angry… I want them to answer me”
Hiestand was removed from his duties after being charged and ordered to have no contact with the victim and several of his colleagues at the air base in Moose Jaw, Sask. The military ordered him off base and told him to work remotely. His family says he became isolated and depressed. Hiestand killed himself on January 17, 2022 — about six weeks after he was charged. Experts say his case has profound implications for the military justice system. The Department of National Defense (DND) confirmed to CBC News that it has launched an internal professional conduct investigation into the actions of the military police officer who handled Hiestand’s case. Major Cristian Hiestand in Moose Jaw, Sask. His family members say he became isolated and depressed after the accusation. (Submitted by Andrea Shorter) The Hiestand family, however, is calling for a more independent investigation by the Military Police Complaints Commission. “I think once the military police questioned him, they asked him, let him be heard to give his side, to give his evidence, I think [I would] I have a brother today,” Andrea Shorter, Hiestand’s sister, told CBC News. “It was really difficult and frustrating. You’re angry. I’m angry with the military police. I want them to answer me. Why? What did they do?”
Problematic questions
The case raises troubling questions about how military police conduct sexual harassment investigations, particularly about their obligation — or lack of one — to interview suspects in such cases. Experts and lawyers differ as to whether this obligation exists. In the political system, it has become more common not to interview suspects. In an overwhelming number of cases, victims of sexual harassment in the military say they’re the ones the police aren’t listening to. But Shorter — who has marched at #MeToo rallies in California, where she lives and works — said authorities also have a duty to look at all the evidence before filing charges. “I wonder what drives their investigations, you know. Is it ideology or is it facts?” said the Shortest. “I feel like it’s the military police, the CFNIS, they’re being political versus moral. I feel like they are. They’re being swayed by public opinion, which is currently on the side of ‘believe all women’.” Maj. Cristian Hiestand in Afghanistan in 2009 or 2010. The military says both the criminal case and the professional conduct investigation related to his case remain active. (Submitted by Andrea Shorter) CBC News asked to interview the Marshal of the Canadian Forces, the Attorney General Military Judge and the acting head of the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC). All these requests were rejected. The Canadian Forces Marshal provided only written responses to questions posed by CBC News. Vice-Captain-Director. Jamie Bresolin, a spokesman for the Provost Marshal’s office, declined to discuss the details of the Hiestand case, saying both the criminal case and the professional conduct investigation remain active. He said that, in general, “military police never reject any evidence” and while each case “is unique … in all cases, investigations are conducted to determine the facts, analyze the evidence and, where appropriate, to the indictment”. Shorter said that if that is the case, she wonders why the military police officer refused to see the texts before charging her.
The investigation continues — despite the suspect’s death
It was Hiestand’s military colleagues who informed the family about the messages on his phone after his death. Shorter and her husband said they went through 300 pages of text. In a filing with the MPCC, they claim that a flawed and biased investigation contributed to Hiestand’s death and that there was a rush to judgment because of the publicity surrounding the military misconduct scandal. The MPCC has decided not to hold a public inquiry at this time on the grounds that the conduct of the military police officer in question is being investigated by the Office of Professional Standards within the DND. At the same time, Fowler requested through access to information and privacy laws copies of military police investigation notes, including what is known as an “incident report.” The DND denied that request, claiming that “an active investigation” was still underway — despite the fact that the suspect is dead. Bresolin said the death of an investigation subject does not automatically close a case, and several steps are involved as the case is reviewed. “The Military Police and the CFNIS [Canadian Forces National Investigation Service] conduct their investigations in a thorough and professional manner, independent of the Chain of Command and political interference,” Bresolin said in an email, responding to Shorter’s claim that the investigation was ideologically motivated.
Military police should be sidelined, expert says
He did not estimate when the criminal case and examination of the professional conduct complaint would be completed. Bresolin said that if a military police officer is found to be in violation of military standards, the complaint can be referred to a police credentials board. The military justice system and military police — already tarnished by the misconduct scandal — should turn the case over to the quasi-judicial MPCC as soon as possible, said Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute who has conducted extensive inquiry into the military’s handling of sexual harassment. The case is extremely important to the credibility of the entire system, he said. Former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbor and Minister of National Defense Anita Anand (centre) release the final report of the Independent External Comprehensive Review on Sexual Badconduct and Sexual Harassment at the Department of National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces in Ottawa on Monday, May 30. 2022. Chief of the Defense Staff, General Wayne Eyre, is at left. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) “Lady [Louise] Arbor said in her May 2022 report that the effectiveness of the justice system is based on perceptions of its fairness and legitimacy,” Duval-Lantoine said. She was referring to the former Supreme Court’s independent inquiry into misconduct in the military, which was ordered by the Liberal government following a series of allegations against senior military leaders. “If that perception is broken, if trust is lost, we’re going to have a hard time finding people on both the survivor side and the accused side to really believe in the system and its justice.”
‘It’s not unusual’
Survivors of sexual assault, he said, have a stake in ensuring investigations are impartial because “when due diligence has not been done by the police, it’s easier to dismiss a case.” Craig Scott, a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, said civilian police sometimes do not interview suspects in sexual assault cases and there is no law requiring them to do so. “It’s not unusual,” said Scott, who added that in this case, military police “will charge based on evidence produced through a victim’s complaint. “And they have no obligation — as the law is understood at the investigation and prosecution stage — to go talk to the accused.” She is, he said, completely “discreet”. A lawyer for Hiestand’s family disagrees and said that, because of the unique nature of the military justice system, military police cannot “ignore relevant avenues of inquiry.” Fowler said an independent review by the MPCC is necessary because of the number of people police have ordered not to contact Hiestand. He was barred from speaking to six potential witnesses, many of whom were colleagues. “It tied the hands of the chain of command in terms of what they could do with him,” Fowler said. “He is now under a criminal prohibition, enforceable under the Criminal Code of Canada, that he cannot contact people who work in the same workplace … simply because they happen to be potential witnesses in a criminal case. And this is relatively rare. “It is not common for the police to have these types of no-contact or no-contact orders.”
“Under the Bus”
Hiestand’s father and mother, Ernst and Michaela, have written letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Defense Minister Anita Anand and MPs on both sides of the aisle. Ernst Hiestand told CBC News he was shocked at how quickly the military as an institution abandoned his son and ostracized…
