Monday, August 8, 2016

Canada: Military Missed Opportunity to Save Suicidal of Soldier

Military had chance to "lessen the likelihood" of soldier suicide, judge says
The Canadian Press
By Chris Purdy
Posted: Aug 06, 2016

PTSD-diagnosed soldier "would have been handled entirely differently" if diagnosis was known
A fatality inquiry into the death of Cpl. Shaun Collins,
a 27-year-old Canadian Forces soldier, suggested the military
could have lessened the likelihood of his death. (Supplied)

A judge says the military had several opportunities to prevent or lower the risk of suicide for an Edmonton soldier who hanged himself in a holding cell five years ago.

Cpl. Shaun Collins, 27, killed himself at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton after he was arrested by military police for drunk driving on March 11, 2011.

Provincial court Judge Jody Moher said in a fatality inquiry report released late Friday afternoon that things could have been done to try to save the soldier.

"It is irrefutable that there were a number of potential opportunities to obviate or lessen the likelihood of Shaun Collins committing suicide that evening," she said.

​Moher said no one did a computer search that night on Collins after his arrest.

A search would have found that Collins, a member of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after he returned from his second tour in Afghanistan in 2010. He had also tried kill himself, or threatened to kill himself, four times and was being transitioned out of the military.

The judge wrote that information on the soldier's mental health was available on a military computer system. But a comssionaire, dispatcher and three military police officers on duty did not do a check and placed him alone in a cell.
read more here

1 comment:

  1. The biggest problem is the Military itself, Cannot solve anything until they can come out of hole and tell the true, and how we kind of know that will never happen, because it involve too many head rolling, I know that from first hand experience. My story start from CFSME Engineer basic training 9501A Chilliwack BC, I come forward about an incident of beating(Torture) involving two larger persons about 240 Lbs each, beating on another trainee 140lbs, the order was from a drunken NCO because he din't like this person, the sad thing is that the beating never stop, it follow all the way to Pentawawa 2 Cer, this person end up kill 2 person in a drunk driving incident, they even promote the NCO from the rank of Master corproal to Sergeant, out of about 28 peoples on that course, everyone know the incident, You got to ask youself if an Career of One person is worth turning your head away from your friends, my point is that you not dealing any single person or problem, You are dealing a bunch of organise Careerism Persons who have no limit and plenty of resource to do what ever it need to keep the true from public. It is Cheaper and more profit to allow those soldier take there live, then living in pain and draining resource, This problem of Suicide in the military will never be solve, until they start telling true.

    ReplyDelete

If it is not helpful, do not be hurtful. Spam removed so do not try putting up free ad.