Category: Police Misconduct

“Statistically Improbable” Sudden Infant Deaths Ignored by Ottawa Police

Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus is charged with ‘Discreditable Conduct’ for conducting purported “unauthorized” investigations into the potential connection between mRNA vaccinated mothers, and the sudden deaths of breastfeeding babies.

“I haven’t yet reported the jaw-dropping testimony about infants dying in their mother’s arms.”

Grus’s trial resumes Monday, October 30, 2023, in Kanata, (West Ottawa) Ontario. The public is invited. (details below)

The initial five days of testimony from three prosecution witnesses in August 2023 produced many shocking revelations. I’ve already covered some of the evidence in previous articles and broadcasts on Jason Lavigne’s Morning Show – but I haven’t yet reported the jaw-dropping testimony about infants dying in their mother’s arms.

A Disconnect Between Prosecution’s Perspective of the Testimony – and Public Gallery Reactions.

Detective Helen Grus

Readers and viewers of my coverage of the first five days at the Detective Grus trial know that I’m running out of adjectives to describe each new revelation that seems more “Shocking”, “Incredible”, “Unbelievable”, “Gasp-producing”, and “Stunning” than the last.

From August 14-18, 2023, the Prosecution led so much evidence that was damning against its own case – that independent media and public observers were left with two obvious conclusions:

1/ The case against Detective Grus lacks any meaningful prosecution evidence at all, which reinforces the widespread belief that the charge against Grus is entirely political, and,

2/ The Prosecution’s perspective and faith in its ‘evidence’ is disconnected from reality and how the public perceives each shocking revelation.

“The prosecutor seems totally unaware that not only is the case floundering, the reputation of the Ottawa Police is increasingly being brought into disrepute with each new witness.”

I have no doubt that by this time, a jury would already be planning a ‘NOT GUILTY’ verdict. But there is no jury of peers involved in this internal tribunal – only Trials Officer Superintendent (Retired) Chris Renwick.

The Ottawa ‘Cluster’ of Sudden Infant Deaths was Seven, not Nine

Defense Counsel Bath-Sheba van den Berg

During the first day of testimony on August 14, 2023, we heard Defense Counsel Bath-Sheba van den Berg explain how the original ‘cluster’ of nine sudden infant deaths should be regarded as seven – because one of the nine children drowned, while another was unfortunately a homicide.

Also, during that first day the prosecution played a video of the May 12, 2022, three-hour long Professional Standards Unit ‘compelled interview’ of Detective Grus.

Many in the courtroom were moved to hear Detective Grus describe why she initiated the investigation into the cluster of Sudden Infant Deaths. She told the Professional Standards Sergeant Jason Arbuthnot that other officers in her unit were disinterested about a spike in infant deaths.

Two of the Seven Deceased Infants Died in Their Mother’s Arms

Later in the recording, Detective Grus explained that two of the seven Sudden Infant Deaths were highly unusual, yet her fellow officers “fluffed it away”…

“These two cases struck a bell suddenly that day because both those babies were sent home healthy. Both those mothers picked them up to feed them, and both of those babies collapsed and went limp in the mother’s arms.

It still gives me chills because to leave it, to just fluff it away.

As a police officer, that’s not enough. I’m a police officer; I’m there to solve and help solve if somebody dies. Especially an innocent little baby.”

Detective Grus also stated…

“I don’t want more babies to die. Whether it’s vaccine-related or not, I want to try to find out why these little babies died… I’m not okay with babies dying and not getting any answers.”**

Testimony from Prosecution Witness: Only 1 in 500 infants die suddenly in Mother’s Arms.

On Tuesday, August 15, 2023, the court heard Detective Grus’s immediate supervisor, Sergeant Marc-Andre Guy, testify that he had for many years been assigned to the ‘Deaths Under Five Committee’.

This multi-disciplinary committee was established under the office of Ontario’s Chief Coroner…

“… to review all cases investigated by a coroner involving the deaths of children under five years of age including neonatal cases where the death was potentially linked to parental behaviour (for example, sleep circumstances/unsafe sleep environment, maternal substance use, neglect, domestic violence, etcetera) and those in which a children’s aid society or Indigenous child wellbeing society (“Society”) was involved at time of the death. The committee did not review neonatal deaths that occurred prior to discharge from hospital where no substantive issues had been identified.”

Sgt. Guy testified,

“I was part of the Death Under Five committee. I went to Toronto three times a year and investigated about 500 infant deaths (in total). I reviewed investigations from other police services. Over four or five years every time I reviewed at least 150 different files.” **

Defense attorney Blair Ector asked Sgt. Guy how common it was for healthy babies to just die in their mother’s arms. Guy replied…

“In my experience it is very rare. I can think of a case or two that the committee reviewed where it happened, but that’s all.”

So there it is. Testimony at the August hearing showed that Detective Grus had every right to be concerned about the cluster of infant deaths and to launch an investigation… when the usual is 1 of 500 babies suddenly dying in their mother’s arms versus the 2 of 7 infant deaths in the Ottawa cluster.

An argument can be made that the sample size (7) is too small to extrapolate from, and that it might be an anomaly. While that position has technical merit, the testimony of Sgt Marc-Andre Guy that he only saw one or two ‘dying in mother’s arms’ incidents in over 500 infant deaths over a five year period is powerful.

Further, Canadians will not have a larger sample size anytime soon because the Ottawa Police Service shut down Detective Grus’s investigation and punished her for daring to ask if mothers’ mRNA injections could have anything to do with the Sudden Deaths of breastfeeding infants.

Conflict of Interest between Prosecutor Vanessa Stewart and Prosecution Witness Renee Stewart

Defense Attorney Blair Ector also pointed out that prosecution witness Detective Renee Stewart investigated one of the cases where the infant died in its mother’s arms.

Then on the last day of the hearings, Friday, August 18, 2023, the public gallery and journalists were shocked to learn that Prosecutor Stewart and Detective Stewart are close family members – sisters-in-law.

My next article will cover this serious conflict of interest that threatens to undermine the prosecution’s entire case.

Grus Hearings – October 30 to November 3, 2023 – 9:30am

Community Boardroom, 211 Huntmar Drive, Kanata, ON

Ottawa Police Service: Police Act Matters – Scheduled Hearings

** Testimony Quotes appearing in this article are taken from my own notes, and may differ from those reported by other journalists or in any official court transcripts.

Legal Defense Fund for Detective Helen Grus

Complete List of Articles about Detective Helen Grus

Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus sings Oh Canada at Hockey Tournament

Have a listen to Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus singing our national anthem, and the cheers of the crowd that follow.

The public invitation to Detective Grus shows strong community support behind the Ottawa Police officer. She is charged with conducting ‘unauthorized investigations’ into the potential connection between mRNA ‘vaccines’ and nine Sudden Infant Deaths.

Detective Grus’s trial continues October 30, 2023 and is already attracting considerable attention from foreign news media.

Worldwide Interest in Grus Case

A recent article in the US press by Christopher Brunet resulted in uncountable millions of views and social media postings. Read ‘Trudeau regime puts Canadian detective on trial for investigating link between infant deaths and mRNA vaccines.’

Even legendary New York Police Detective and Medal of Honor recipient Frank Serpico has slammed the Ottawa Police Service for covering up Detective Grus’s investigation into the potential connection between mRNA ‘vaccines’ and Sudden Infant Deaths.

Detective Serpico says this cover-up is proceeding even though it puts “innocent infant lives” at risk…

“Incompetence or criminality will go to any length not to be exposed even at the cost of innocent infant lives.”  Famed NYPD Detective Serpico comments on the Detective Grus case.

Starting October 30, 2023, Donald Best will be posting daily reports and live broadcasts from the trial of Detective Helen Grus on X-Twitter – @donaldbestca

Full article list on the Detective Helen Grus case here.

Sudden Infant Death Parents Contact Donald Best – Supporting Detective Helen Grus

“I don’t want more babies to die. Whether it’s vaccine-related or not, I want to try to find out why these little babies died… I’m not okay with babies dying and not getting any answers.”

Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus during her compelled interview by Professional Standards. (Photo: Courthouse prayers for Detective Grus at the first day of her trial.)

Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus is charged with ‘Discreditable Conduct’ under the Ontario Police Services Act for conducting “unauthorized” investigations into the sudden deaths of nine infants. Detective Grus was investigating any potential connection between the vaccination status of the mothers and the sudden deaths of breastfeeding babies.

Since my August 2023 reporting of the first five days of prosecution testimony in the trial of Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus, I have been contacted by seven parents whose babies died suddenly and unexpectedly.

The communications came from mothers and fathers in Canada, the USA, and one from Australia.

Each parent expressed support for Detective Grus and told some of their own story and grief. Two of the babies died many years ago, while five died since January 1, 2021 – (which puts the five deaths within the period when the experimental mRNA COVID vaccines were rolled out.)

The common thread was that none of the parents was provided with any answer as to what caused their child’s death. Further, each parent expressed a lack of confidence in the completeness and diligence of medical personnel and / or police. One mother described the police as “callous and didn’t care” about her infant’s death. She stated that she wished Detective Grus had been the officer to investigate.

A Police Detective to be Admired

During the first day of testimony on August 14, 2023, the prosecution played a video of the three-hour long Professional Standards Unit ‘compelled interview’ of Detective Grus.

Many in the courtroom were moved to hear Detective Grus describe why she initiated the investigation into the cluster of Sudden Infant Deaths. She told the Professional Standards Sergeant Jason Arbuthnot that other officers in her unit were disinterested about a spike in infant deaths.

Detective Grus also told the interviewer that she personally met with and informed Chief of Police Peter Sloly of the spike in infant deaths – and of her investigations that later became the subject of her charge!

Detective Grus was in tears as she said:

“There’s something alarming going on. We had double, a huge spike in baby deaths, and I said “What are we gonna do about it?” Because I was getting that people were dismissive about it. (They said) “Oh well, that sucks.”

I’m not okay with babies dying and not getting any answers.

I need a tissue.”

Later in the recording, Detective Grus explained that two of the nine Sudden Infant Deaths were highly unusual, yet her fellow officers “fluffed it away”…

“These two cases struck a bell suddenly that day because both those babies were sent home healthy. Both those mothers picked them up to feed them, and both of those babies collapsed and went limp in the mother’s arms.

It still gives me chills because to leave it, to just fluff it away.

As a police officer, that’s not enough. I’m a police officer; I’m there to solve and help solve if somebody dies. Especially an innocent little baby.”

Sean Hartman just wanted to play hockey. He took the jab and died.

More from various times during the interview…

“With the way that the babies expired in their mama’s arms. Which I find crazy. It’s a drastic change from what we’ve always known as SIDS.”

I’m not comfortable with just closing it as “Oh well. Too bad, so sad; it’s unexplained.”

“I don’t want more babies to die. Whether it’s vaccine-related or not, I want to try to find out why these little babies died.”

January 11 (2022) it struck a chord. I found out that two babies collapsed in their mother’s arms. One had an enlarged heart. The next day I found out that Sean Hartman died, just dropped dead with an enlarged heart.“

Detective Grus met with Chief Sloly and told him about the spike in Sudden Infant Deaths

“I told the chief there had been a significant increase – double or triple numbers on baby deaths in 2021.”

A Request of Parents Whose Babies Died Suddenly

Some of you have already reached out to me – a few using only their first names.

I would appreciate hearing from more of you as I research a further article in my series about Detective Helen Grus.

I want to know your stories, your experiences with medical personnel and police officers – and whether you believe that Detective Grus was correct to investigate the cluster of infant deaths as she did.

You have my promise that I will never reveal your name to anyone without your explicit written permission. I’m fine if you wish to remain anonymous and use a g-mail or some other method of contacting me.

My email is: [email protected]

My twitter for direct messages is: @donaldbestca

I can also speak with you on Telegram or Signal.

Thank you,

Donald Best

 

Tom Marazzo – An Open Letter to Canadian Law Enforcement: The Crisis of Confidence

Canadian Police handcuff visibly pregnant mom behind the back for refusing to reveal her medical vaccination status while watching her son play hockey.

“If the trust between law enforcement and the public isn’t re-established soon, we will find ourselves in a society where the concept of policing by consent is a relic of the past”

Let’s have a real talk about a real issue that’s affecting our beautiful nation from St. John’s to Vancouver. I’m a part of a brave group of people—current and former EMS, military and police officers called Police On Guard For Thee, or POG for short.

We stand for the principles embedded in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But what’s happening now in our nation is an affront to these principles.

“What do you do when the very institution that is designed to protect your freedom starts to erode it… When unchecked power becomes the gateway drug to corruption and government overreach?”

Make no mistake; this is not an isolated phenomenon. It’s widespread, and it’s terrifying. If our law enforcement officers can disregard the rule of law with zero repercussions, then what does that say about the state of justice in Canada? The POG Officers have seen this devolution and are vocal in their opposition to what they rightfully see as an abuse of power.

I pose a question to those in the ranks of our so-called “law enforcement”… If you disregard our Constitution, our Rule of Law, and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, then why should any Canadian citizen continue to respect your authority?

It’s simple: they shouldn’t.

To the virtuous officers who have been on the side of justice, I say this: Your time to be silent is over. If you truly honor your oath to serve and protect, then you must become vocal in your opposition to the unions and the managers who allow this to continue. You see, the silence of the good is more damaging than the brutality of the bad.

It’s time for a reckoning. If the trust between law enforcement and the public isn’t re-established soon, we will find ourselves in a society where the concept of policing by consent is a relic of the past. This is a reference to the Peelian Principles, the foundational ethical guidelines for law enforcement that stress the importance of a mutually respectful and consensual relationship between the police and the public.

Canada, we are at a crossroads.

For the police who still hold a sense of duty and righteousness, the time is now. Take a stand, be heard, and act in a manner that reflects the principles upon which our great nation was built. We need you now, more than ever.

 

Guest Column by Tom Marazzo

Tom Marazzo was a volunteer for the Canadian Trucker Freedom Convoy 2022 and was integral in helping to coordinate truck movements and logistics, as well as negotiations with Police Liaison Teams from the city of Ottawa. A retired officer of the Canadian Army, his advice on how to safely and responsibly achieve the objectives of the Convoy was instrumental in the success of the Convoy which can be measured by the mandates removed in the province of Ontario. Tom acted as the main spokesperson, doing press conferences, almost daily, on behalf of the Freedom Convoy.

Witnessing Canadians losing their inalienable human rights is not something to ignore or abide by. Tom’s unwavering commitment to Canadians is the reason he’s written a highly person and detailed account of his life experiences leading up to, during and in the after math of the Freedom Convoy.

Tom’s Book – The People’s Emergency Act: Freedom Convoy 2022
 – Available on Amazon Now

Letter from Canadian Political Prisoner Tony Olienick – Without Bail 563 Days

Clockwise from top left: Jerry Morin, Tony Olienick, Chris Carbert, Chris Lysak.

I received the following letter on August 29, 2023 from Father Jeffrey Stephaniuk, who had received the original from Coutts Four political prisoner Tony Olienick. The original hand-written letter appears at the end…

Freedom Convoy

Honk! Honk!

Hold the Line

Stand on Guard For Thee

August 24, 2023

Dear Jeffrey Stephaniuk,

Hello! Thank you for sending me your heartfelt letter of support. I am grateful and honoured to serve God and all the amazing Patriots out there like yourself. I honour and respect your father for his military service for this great nation, and I appreciate you for being a Priest and fellow son of God.

I’ve been a new Christian believer since March of 2020, that’s when I realized the battle between good and evil happening in the spirit world, and now how it’s spilling out into the physical world now. Since being in custody it has given me the much needed time, I always made excuses of not having ample time to sit down and read the bible and to understand God’s great words.

I’m grateful for being in custody as it truly saved me, I feel more free behind these walls than a lot of people out there are. So I totally believe this was my destiny, God’s plan for me, so I have no regrets from my time at Coutts and know in my heart that we are not guilty of anything except peacefully protesting against a corrupt system.

“We stood there at Coutts for the people of this great nation and I will continue to stand and defend their God given rights and freedoms for as long as need be. Especially for the children as their fate rests in all our hands, so we must not give up for their sake.”

For the little time I’ve known the other three men, I can say they are real down to earth peace loving Patriots and like myself love this country and ALL Canadians. We are passionate about Freedom and concerned about the direction our government is leading us.

Now myself and one of my co-accused were arrested at Coutts while standing peacefully at the front of the protest crowd, filming the events on our phones outside the saloon. We were unarmed and were surrounded by heavily armed militarized RCMP. We did not cause any incidents to warrant our arrest for mischief.

A few hours later the third guy was sick and asleep in his trailer which was parked blocks away from the protest site and on private property. He was suddenly awoken and told to come out, he came out peacefully and unarmed but shocked to be face to face with dozens of RCMP pointing their rifles directly at him. He did not cause any incidents to warrant his arrest for mischief either.

The next day the fourth guy was in Calgary and driving to work when he was suddenly pulled over and arrested by SWAT. Again he did not cause any incidents to warrant his arrest and was 4 ½ hrs away from Coutts!

“It wasn’t until after we were all in custody is when the corrupt evil system needed an excuse to justify their draconian act in implementing the Emergencies Act so that’s when they hit us with bogus charges of weapons for a dangerous purpose and conspiracy to murder RCMP.”

This was all fabricated by a bias evil agenda driven by the federal government, when in fact the real criminals at Coutts were the RCMP as they admitted on the record for vandalizing three excavator machines which posed no threat and were parked on private farmland outside of Coutts. The RCMP did this blatant act of sabotage to try and provoke us peaceful protestors into acting out in a retaliatory response which none of us did. So that’s when the RCMP used more underhanded evil tactics, breaking the law and our charter rights to push a government agenda.

“Now just yesterday the judge announced that he is going to open and review the envelope our defense lawyers submitted containing crime fraud between the Federally appointed crown prosecutors and the RCMP. This is a big win for all Canadians!”

We can’t have a corrupt law system, so people need to hold the courts liable to expose the corruption.

My lawyer fees have reached $500,000.00 to expose this. I am very grateful for the help I’ve received financially from all the Patriot donations that have come through my angel Granny McKay!

I pray as we move forward that no stone gets left unturned. I want the truth to be told to the public, everyone has a right to know what’s going on.

You don’t hear much about us any more on the mainstream as they don’t want to report the crime fraud collusion that happened between the crown and RCMP. They know they are the ones who should be sitting here in jail and not me or the three other men.

Anyway, thank you for reaching out to me! It sure means a lot. God bless you, Jeffrey! Thank you for being a Freedom Warrior with me!!

With sincere love and gratitude

Tony Olienick

P.S. If you have access to Instagram please follow and share my profile tony_o1911 as I posted all my videos from Coutts on there. The last video I posted was minutes before my arrest and depicts the exact location as well as events leading up to my arrest. Please share my story far and wide!

 

Ottawa Police Still Withholding Court Documents In Detective Grus Case – Here Are Those We Have

Worldwide Interest in Ottawa Police Disciplinary Trial

Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus is charged under the Police Services Act with ‘Discreditable Conduct’ for allegedly conducting “unauthorized” investigations into nine Sudden Infant Deaths where she sought to know the vaccine status of the mothers in January 2022.

The internal trial is scheduled for five days August 14-18, 2023.

Although Ottawa Police recently released some of the legal documents filed in the case, the organization is still refusing to release motions and decisions since April 26, 2023.

As previously reported here, the Ottawa Police for many months concealed the judge’s decisions and lawyers’ motions – even going so far as to deceitfully inform the public and the press in April that the judge had not made a decision about a December 29, 2022 Disclosure Motion – when the truth was the judge delivered his decision on January 31, 2023.

This lack of transparency continues with much of the case still being conducted in secret.

Further, the Ottawa Police ignored numerous requests from the public and media to stream the upcoming trial over the internet as was done for a few appearances in the Fall of 2022.

In a recent commentary, legendary NYPD Detective and Medal of Honor Recipient Frank Serpico slammed the Ottawa Police cover-up in the Grus case, saying “Incompetence or criminality will go to any length not to be exposed even at the cost of innocent infant lives.”

Five Court Documents Available Here

I redacted these documents to remove Identity Information, signatures, and email addresses. Use ‘control’ or right click to open these documents in a new browser tab for downloading…

20221229 Exhibit #8 Motion regarding Disclosure_Redacted

20230112 Exhibit #9 Respondent’s Factum – Response to applicant’s request for disclosure_Redacted

20230131 Exhibit #11 Ruling on Motion for Disclosure_Redacted

20230417 Exhibit #13 Consolidated Motion_Redacted

20230426 Exhibit #14 Respondent Ottawa Police Service Factum_Redacted

Obviously the April 17, 2023 Motion would have produced a decision by the judge, but the Ottawa Police are withholding this and any other documents filed since April 26, 2023.

Summary of Each Document

20221229 Exhibit #8 Motion regarding Disclosure_Redacted.pdf

  • Defense motion requesting disclosure from the prosecution.
  • Para 12 recounts that Detective Grus requested the OPS Professional Standards Unit to investigate who leaked the confidential information to CBC Journalist Shaamini Yogaretnam. OPS REFUSED TO INVESTIGATE THIS CRIMINAL OFFENSE!
  • Para 14 recounts that the OPS Sgt. Arbuthnot told the Detective Grus that ‘the two CBC articles that were published generated public attention and that as a result of the Applicant’s alleged actions, OPS’ s reputation was brought into disrepute.”
  • Para 15 – Professional Standards found that Grus did nothing wrong in looking at the Sudden Infant Death reports. HOWEVER – the Professional Standards Unit found she did wrong by conducting “an unsanctioned quality control project of SACA infant death investigations.” (Oh really! And what did Grus find? That the investigations were flawed, biased, negligent.)
  • Para 30 lists the initial disclosure to Grus. What follows are paragraphs detailing subsequent OPS disclosures and further requests by Grus’s lawyer – including the autopsy records of the deceased infants.
  • Para 42 reveals an extensive list of defense requests for disclosure items. The totality of the requests indicate that Grus’s legal team will be conducting a detailed and strong defense.
  • Para 42-13 reveals that Ottawa Police Wiretapped Detective Grus and her family. (See BREAKING HERE: Ottawa Police Wiretapped ‘Sudden Infant Deaths’ Detective Helen Grus – And Her Family)

20230112 Exhibit #9 Respondent’s Factum – Response to applicant’s request for disclosure_Redacted.pdf

(Continuing)

Above is Work in Progress – Check back in a few hours for an update.

NOTE: I’ve published this article unfinished so readers can download the documents ASAP and start reading. If you find something noteworthy, please leave a comment. (Comments sometimes take a few hours to appear so please be patient.)

BREAKING HERE: Ottawa Police Wiretapped ‘Sudden Infant Deaths’ Detective Helen Grus – And Her Family

Court Documents reveal Ottawa Police wiretapped Detective Grus and her family

Detective Helen Grus is charged under the Police Services Act with ‘Discreditable Conduct’ for allegedly conducting “unauthorized” investigations into nine Sudden Infant Deaths where she sought to know the vaccine status of the mothers in January 2022.

Her internal trial is scheduled for August 14, 2023.

“The wiretap was calculated to intimidate Detective Grus and her family – but all these ‘Urgent Emergency’ wiretaps during the Freedom Convoy backfired.

 The wiretaps served only to galvanize Canadians and strengthen the legitimacy of protest against governments that overstepped their authority and power.”

Rob Stocki – former Ottawa Police Sergeant

For seven months the Ottawa Police Service (‘OPS’) refused to provide the motions and decisions in the Grus Case to journalists or the public.

Now we know why the Ottawa Police refused to let the public and press see the court documents. The documents are explosive – and not just because of the wiretapping revelation.

Only after famed NYPD Detective Frank Serpico publicly slammed the Ottawa Police and accused them of a cover-up did OPS provide five of the documents they had refused to release in January through April, 2023.

Some documents are still missing but I’ll work with what we have while the OPS decides if they will release further documents.

Prosecution Response Reveals Section 188 ‘URGENT’ Wiretap against Detective Grus

Ottawa Police Conducted ‘Urgent Emergency’ Wiretap Targeting Detective Grus and her Family

On December 29, 2022, the lawyer for Detective Grus filed a ‘Motion Regarding Disclosure’ demanding further access to police records and evidence in the case.

Section 42 (13) of this Defense Motion reveals that the Ottawa Police wiretapped Detective Grus…

“42. Further, on review of the disclosure provided so far, the Applicant requests the following disclosure be made and any and all disclosure in relation to the Discreditable Misconduct Charge:

13) Authorizations to Intercept Private Communications, namely decision to wiretap the Applicant:”

So, the defense lawyers received some type of disclosure that the Ottawa Police had wiretapped Detective Grus. Due to the OPS response below, I speculate that Grus might not have learned about the wiretap as part of the prosecution’s disclosure process. Instead, she (or her lawyers) might have been served with a standard notice of the wiretap after it ended.

In the ‘Respondent’s Factum’ dated January 12, 2023, the Ottawa Police state in paragraph 47…

“Authorizations to Intercept Private Communications, namely decision to wiretap the Applicant”. (Item 13 at paragraph 42 of the Applicant’s factum).

“47. There was no Wiretap authorization sought or granted in relation to this PSA matter. Further, any application to access materials filed and sealed in support of a Criminal Code s.188 (wiretap) authorization must be brought pursuant to section 187(1.3) of the Criminal Code, i.e., an application to unseal the packet must be brought before a provincial court judge, a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction, or a judge as defined in section 552 of the Criminal Code.”

This response is an admission that the Ottawa Police did wiretap Detective Grus under the Emergency Authorizations for Interception of Private Communications under Section 188.

The passage also purports that the police did not wiretap Grus as part of her current Police Services Act charge before the Trials Officer.

Should we believe the Ottawa Police that Wiretapping Detective Grus had nothing to do with her Investigation of Sudden Infant Deaths?

Ottawa Police Professional Standards Unit began investigating Detective Helen Grus and suspended her with pay on February 4, 2022 after at least one of her fellow officers complained that Grus was re-investigating and “auditing” nine Sudden Infant Deaths.

According to the CBC, Detective Grus was also one of only ten Ottawa Police employees to refuse the mandatory mRNA genetic treatment injections that some call Covid ‘vaccines’. In September of 2021, she sent an open letter to the Chief of Police and fellow officers asking questions about the safety and effectiveness of the Covid ‘vaccines’.

One of Detective Grus’s questions to the Chief was: “Will Ottawa Police take full legal and financial liability for any injuries, adverse effects and/or death occurring to members following the receipt of any EUA vaccine potentially mandated?”

Detective Grus’s February 4, 2022 suspension was only a few days after hundreds of Freedom Convoy trucks and thousands of protestors arrived in Ottawa.

Notice to Rob Stocki of Urgent Emergency Wiretap – Courtesy of Rebel News

Police Used Freedom Convoy as an Excuse to Wiretap Grus and her Family

The Ottawa Police used a Section 188(2) ‘Urgent Emergency’ Wiretap against Detective Grus – a special shortcut authorization typically reserved for only the most urgent of cases like abduction, hostage taking, terrorism, murder, or organized crime violence in situations where there is no time to organize formal affidavits and evidence.

Section 188 allows a judge to authorize a wiretap at much lower thresholds of proof and judicial oversight. The ‘evidence’ placed before the judge does not have to be sworn – a huge red flag ripe for abuse.

The judge can issue an authorization good for only a limited period up to 36 hours. This is typically done to allow time for police to ready and present the full sworn evidence and ‘Information To Obtain’ (‘ITO’) a normal wiretap authorization under Section 186.

We know that the Ottawa Police did NOT follow up after the 36 hours with a ‘real’ Section 186 wiretap against Detective Grus because that would be mentioned in the defense motion and prosecution response. That says everything.

In other words… there were no real grounds, no evidence, no urgency, to obtain the ‘Urgent Emergency’ Section 188(2) wiretap against Detective Grus and her family. Ottawa Police did it because they could get away with it during the Convoy – just to ‘see’ if they might catch Grus doing something, and to intimidate and punish her.

What the Ottawa Police did wiretapping Detective Grus and her family was probably illegal – and at the very least a gross violation of Charter Rights and privacy. It also shows the malicious intent of the Ottawa Police command officers to continue the shut-down of Detective Grus’s investigations into the nine Sudden Infant Deaths.

Someone in charge of obtaining the ‘Urgent Authorizations to Intercept Private Communications’ simply threw Detective Grus’s name on the list as a 36-hour fishing expedition – with no intention of applying for a ‘real’ warrant later.

Make no mistake… Wiretaps strip families naked to a degree that most Canadians never contemplate or realize.

The decision to wiretap Detective Helen Grus and her family was without any legitimate basis. The Ottawa Police knew exactly how invasive a wiretap would be against Grus and her family – and that Detective Grus would know that too when she was served Notice of the wiretap.

The wiretap was intended as punishment and intimidation for Detective Grus and her family members.

Ottawa Police Legal Counsel Probably Advised on the Grus Wiretap

Christiane Huneault

Throughout the Freedom Convoy, Ottawa Police senior legal counsel Christiane Huneault worked with the Chief of Police and even substituted for Chief Sloly at meetings with the RCMP and OPP. (CBC article here)

It seems reasonable that the Senior Legal Counsel to the Ottawa Police would have provided legal advice and perhaps even supervised the wiretapping of Detective Grus and other serving and retired OPS employees during the Freedom Convoy.

Ottawa Police Repeated the Abuses of 1970’s ‘FLQ Crisis’ War Measures Act

During the 1970 ‘FLQ Crisis’, police across Canada took advantage of the War Measures Act to violate rights, illegally enter homes, and to perform illegal searches – all of which had nothing to do with the FLQ kidnappings, murder, and bombings in Quebec.

Some 52 years later the police behaved in the same manner during the Freedom Convoy. Detective Grus and her family are probably one of the best illustrations of this abuse in 2022.

Across Canada during the Freedom Convoy there were many ‘Urgent’ wiretaps issued against serving and retired police employees. To my knowledge, no charges were laid because of evidence collected during these ‘Urgent’ wiretaps.

Ottawa defense lawyer Paul Lewandowski explains on his excellent website that “URGENT” really does mean “URGENT”…

Section 188(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada provides a legal avenue for law enforcement agencies to intercept private communications without obtaining prior authorization under section 186, but only if the urgency of the situation demands it.

[…]One strategic consideration is whether the urgency of the situation justifies the interception of private communications without prior authorization. In determining the urgency, law enforcement agencies must assess the risk to public safety and security, the potential harm that could result, and whether the information that could be gained by intercepting private communications is crucial to the investigation.

Former Ottawa Police Sergeant Rob Stocki

Former Ottawa Police Sergeant Rob Stocki Was Also Wiretapped

Rob Stocki is a former Ottawa Police Sergeant turned New Blue Party candidate in the 2022 Ontario Provincial election. He too received notice that police had wiretapped him during the Freedom Convoy under an ‘Urgent’ Section 188(2) from February 18 to 19, 2022.

Just as with Detective Grus, the Section 188 ‘Urgent’ wiretap was not followed up with a ‘real’ wiretap authorization.

That says everything to Stocki, who told me,

“The ‘Urgent’ wiretaps are a dangerous precedent because in this case they were used as a political tool to serve the interests of politicians. To accept this use is to normalize tyranny.”

“I accept the fact that there are real and dangerous criminals out there who deserve to be wiretapped. But in this particular case, the wiretap had nothing to do with justice. It had nothing to do with a danger to society. The fact that the ‘Urgent’ wiretap wasn’t followed up with a ‘real’ wiretap says it all. It was a political tool on a fishing expedition.”

Rob Stocki also advised about Detective Helen Grus,

“I was working in one of the convoy command centers along with Daniel Bulford, Tom Quiggen, and others. Of course, I met and knew of many others associated with the convoy.

I can definitively and absolutely say that Detective Helen Grus had nothing to do with the organization or planning of the convoy.

The fact that the Ottawa Police wiretapped Detective Grus is an example of politicians using the resources and power of the state to crush those who disagree with political policies.

The wiretap was calculated to intimidate Detective Grus and her family – but all these ‘Urgent Emergency’ wiretaps during the Freedom Convoy backfired.

The wiretaps served only to galvanize Canadians and strengthen the legitimacy of protest against governments that overstepped their authority and power. When the news broke that the police wiretapped me, so many people told me “When I saw what they did to you, I knew they were evil.”

Dave Menzies from Rebel News produced an excellent presentation on the wiretap against Rob Stocki… Did you take part in the Freedom Convoy? Maybe you were WIRETAPPED like this retired cop

Uher 4000 Report Monitor – Standard wiretap recorder used by Ontario Provincial Police in 1977

My Background in Wiretapping

Starting in 1977 I spent almost a year at the old Ontario Provincial Police HQ working wiretaps against motorcycle gangs and the Italian Mafia.

What an education for a naïve 23-year-old rookie cop!

We had wiretaps on home and business phones. We planted microphones in cold cellars, garden sheds, trucks, boats, and in the parts-room at a major auto dealership. At one home we planted a microphone in a gazebo where the target loved to bring his friends to smoke smuggled Cuban cigars and discuss heroin shipments from Hong Kong.

Against two wiretap targets – a husband and wife – with special judicial authorization we planted microphones over and beside their marital bed. And in the master bedroom ensuite washroom.

In the 1970s, everything was recorded on Uher ‘Report 4000’ reel-to-reel tape recorders – the standard German wiretap machine used by intelligence agencies on both sides during the Cold War.

I soon learned that some of our targets were so evil that they frightened me.

My police comrades and I listened as Mafia mobsters so casually discussed the future abduction, torture, and murder of a minor gang member for the purpose of delivering a message to his boss – their business rival. The plan was to castrate the man alive, then kill him, and send his organ and photos of the killing to his family via Canada Post.

I listened as motorcycle gang members discussed the pros and cons of raping the 15-year-old daughter of a bakery store owner who refused to pay protection money.

I listened as a thug called a prostitute and told her that she had better perform three ‘tricks’ a day or she wouldn’t be so pretty anymore. I heard her cry, promise to work harder, and beg the thug to deliver more “go” (methamphetamines).

Listening in to such evil every day can take a toll on a police officer, so as doctors do, cops learn to compartmentalize – to put the unpleasant in a box in the mind and leave work at work.

After my first week of listening to all this evil, my new squad mates took me out for a beer… or ten. I don’t quite remember except that Tex and Donny R. drove me home and poured me in the front door.

You see, there is much that ordinary decent people haven’t a clue about. They live their lives with love and integrity. They fight the normal daily battles, work hard for their families, and obey the laws – never knowing what evil people live across the street and two doors down.

Wiretaps allow police to listen in on your most intimate moments.

Wiretapping Detective Grus’s Family – Reality of Modern Wiretaps

It is 100% certain that the wiretap targeting Detective Helen Grus also recorded members of her family, her friends, and other people she communicated with.

Properly obtained, judicially supervised wiretaps are an unfortunate necessity against the monsters who live among us. But because wiretaps are such a gross violation of privacy, they should only be used to investigate the most egregious criminals and crimes.

Every wiretap also violates the privacy of innocent people – the target’s family, spouse, children, and friends. When someone calls the home, police listen because the caller might be leaving a message for the target. If a boyfriend calls the daughter and asks to come over while the parents were away, police listen because she might say where her parents traveled to. (“They went to Sudbury and won’t be home tonight so come on over.”)

Now ‘wiretaps’ aren’t just telephone taps. “Interception of Electronic Communications” includes email, chats, photos, faxes – everything. Not to forget that police are now capable of turning on the microphone in your smart phone to listen to everything in the room without your knowledge.

And so it is that the wiretap targeting Detective Helen Grus, was also a wiretap against her family.

For the year that I ‘worked the wires’ I came to know the targets’ spouses, children, relatives, and friends. Some you would feel sorry for, others you would silently cheer on as they faced some personal challenge. And you would learn their most intimate secrets.

I knew that a 17-year-old daughter was pregnant three months before she told her parents. I knew that a wife was having an affair with an old high school boyfriend. I listened as a sobbing son told his father about the affair.

We knew that a grandmother who lived with her daughter’s family kept a bottle of vodka in the garden shed – for those difficult days when she couldn’t find methamphetamine. We knew that grandfather was terribly embarrassed because he had cancer and had to wear diapers – often soiling himself at dinner or when out in public.

Make no mistake… Wiretaps strip families naked to a degree that most people never contemplate or realize.

The decision to wiretap Detective Helen Grus and her family was an abusive fishing trip without any legitimate basis. The Ottawa Police knew exactly how invasive it was against her family – and that Detective Grus would know that too.

The wiretap was intended as punishment and intimidation for Detective Grus and her family members.

Donald Best

August 7, 2023

Revision History

August 7, 2023 8:35pm ET – Originally published.

Famed NYPD Detective Frank Serpico Slams Ottawa Police Cover-up In Grus Case

“Incompetence or criminality will go to any length not to be exposed even at the cost of innocent infant lives.”

Legendary New York Police Detective and Medal of Honor recipient Frank Serpico has slammed the Ottawa Police Service for covering up an investigation into the potential connection between mRNA ‘vaccines’ and Sudden Infant Deaths.

Detective Serpico says this cover-up is proceeding even though it puts “innocent infant lives” at risk.

OPS Detective Helen Grus faces internal Police Act charges for conducting “unauthorized” investigations into the sudden deaths of nine infants – where she sought to know the vaccine status of the mothers in January, 2022.

Detective Serpico’s powerful comment highlights the ongoing Ottawa Police cover-up that is operating at several levels:

1. Detective Grus’s inquiries into potential connections between mRNA and nine Sudden Infant Deaths (SIDS) ended when she was suspended and charged for ‘unauthorized’ investigations. Her investigation was stopped cold and the cover-up began.

2. During the April 28, 2023 hearing, citizens and journalists heard confirmation that the original Ottawa Police investigations into the nine SIDS deaths were substandard – even shoddy – with incomplete reports and sloppy investigations. The original assigned detectives did not even consider the possibility that the mothers’ Covid vaccine status could impact the baby in the womb, or through breastfeeding. This, despite numerous studies (including CDC VAERS data) confirming injuries and deaths of breastfed infants.

3. The Ottawa Police refuse to release written decisions in the case made by the Trials Officer Superintendent (Retired) Chris Renwick. The OPS also refuses to release the motions made by the prosecution or defense counsel. In effect, a good portion of the trial is being conducted secretly and out of the public view and knowledge.

4. The Ottawa Police falsely informed the public and journalists that Trials Officer Renwick had not made a decision on a certain motion, when he had in fact made the decision some two months previously in January.

5. The Ottawa Police cancelled the ‘Teams’ internet broadcast of the Grus case – despite continuing to broadcast other disciplinary cases scheduled as far in the future as November 29, 2023. This limits the ability of citizens to view the Grus case, and limits the news media to only those journalists who are able to personally attend the hearing. This is a deliberate Ottawa Police strategy to limit transparency and media coverage.

Ottawa Police cancelled broadcast of Grus Trial – while continuing to broadcast others.

Detective Serpico had earlier praised the Ottawa Police for internet broadcasting the Grus hearings as a “breakthrough in police transparency” – but now suspects that a cover-up is in progress and says “innocent infant lives” are at risk due to the Ottawa Police failure to investigate the potential connection between mother’s vaccine status and the SIDS deaths of newborn and breastfeeding infants.

The only Ottawa Police Detective to properly investigate these infant deaths now faces charges for doing so.

Whether the Grus Trial is broadcast on the internet or not, the world will be watching this most important legal event.

Detective Frank Serpico testifies at the Knapp Commission into Police Corruption

New York Police Detective Frank Serpico

Retired NYPD Detective Frank Serpico rose to fame with his whistleblowing on widespread police corruption in 1970. His testimony before the Knapp Commission resulted many indictments against corrupt New York police officers. He also testified in court to convict corrupt police officers.

In 1971, Detective Serpico was shot in face during a drug raid that had the hallmarks of a set-up by corrupt cops as revenge for his testifying against fellow officers.

Contrary to public belief, Detective Serpico was not awarded the Medal of Honor for his anti-corruption work, but for bravery during a shootout where he was wounded, and then shot the man who attempted to murder him.

A best-selling biography by author Peter Maas (Serpico, The Valachi Papers, King of the Gypsies, Underboss) brought Serpico’s story of police corruption to the world. In 1973 actor Al Pacino – fresh off his success in The Godfather – played the role Serpico in the award-winning movie of the same name.

At 87 years of age, Frank Serpico continues his decades of activism – speaking out about civil liberties, police brutality and corruption.

Detective Serpico inspired an entire generation of young police officers to stand against corruption and was probably single-handedly responsible for the end of general ‘beat collections’ in New York City and throughout North America – including in Toronto, Canada where I was sworn as a Police Constable in 1975. (And yes, Toronto once had corrupt ‘beat collections’ from shop owners.)

NOTE: This article is available in French here.

Public Health Agency of Canada Personnel Influenced Ottawa Police Investigation and Charge against Detective Grus

Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus is charged under the Police Services Act with ‘Discreditable Conduct’ for allegedly conducting “unauthorized” investigations into nine Sudden Infant Deaths where she sought to know the vaccine status of the mothers.

It can now be revealed that the Public Health Agency of Canada personnel and persons associated with PHAC – influenced and lobbied the Ottawa Police Service during the initial stages of the Detective Grus investigation and continued even after the officer had been charged.

The evidence includes public news media stories, public PHAC documents, and secretly (but legally) recorded phone calls with a senior PHAC manager, and a PHAC-published researcher.

This is also a sorrowful story that I wish I did not have to write – because two of the involved PHAC researchers are the mother and grandmother of one of the nine Sudden Infant Deaths that Detective Grus was investigating.

But justice requires the truth. Canadians (and Detective Grus) deserve to know the truth about the politically-motivated charge against a dedicated, diligent, and courageous police officer.

Canadians also deserve to know about the outside influences and lobbying that undoubtedly led to the Ottawa Police charging Detective Grus.

(This Article is Version #1.3 – See the Revision Table below for a record of additions or changes to the article. The article is published with placeholders in a few sections and will be updated at least once a day for the next two days. The writer is traveling under difficult circumstances and is publishing a work in progress so the main story can be known now.)

Rogue Ottawa Police Officers criminally provided confidential information to CBC journalist Shaamini Yogaretnam

Yogaretnam then actively interfered with the ongoing internal investigation.

Ottawa Police launched an internal investigation and suspended Detective Grus in early February 2022. (More extensive background and links to my Grus articles can be found here: Charge Against Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus Falling Apart)

Shortly after Detective Grus was suspended in early February, 2022 – multiple rogue Ottawa Police officers criminally provided confidential information about the ongoing investigation to CBC journalist Shaamini Yogaretnam.

Before publishing the information provided by rogue police officers, the CBC presented an ultimatum to the Ottawa Police Service on Thursday, March 24, 2022 – that the police had only 24 hours to respond before CBC broke the story. (1)

The ultimatum also contained the inherent threat that if the police hadn’t yet contacted the parents of the nine SIDS babies – the parents would learn of the investigation through the CBC News.

With that ultimatum, the CBC effectively became the director of the internal investigation – forcing the police to throw out their investigative plan and dance to the CBC’s tune.

According to news articles, the CBC ultimatum caused Ottawa Police to hurriedly contact the involved parents late on a Friday – totally upsetting the investigative plan and timeline that was undoubtedly in place. (4)

Yogaretnam and CBC knew that publishing confidential information would cause chaos with the internal investigation that was still in an early stage – but they made the ultimatum and published anyway.

The rogue Ottawa Police officers who illegally provided confidential information to Yogaretnam undoubtedly also knew and intended that their actions would cause chaos in the internal investigation. The Criminal Code Section 129 calls that ‘Obstruct Police’.

It will be interesting to learn how much effort the Ottawa Police put into investigating the rogue officers for their crimes. Presumably their identities were not discovered or we probably would have heard by now… unless, of course, the rogue officers are being protected.

No Allegation or Evidence of a Grus cover-up by Ottawa Police – Quite the Opposite

There was and is no allegation by CBC or their rogue police sources that the Ottawa Police Professional Standards Unit engaged in a cover-up of the Detective Grus case.

In fact, the evidence clearly shows that upon receiving what appears to have been an internal complaint from an officer(s) who worked with Detective Grus, the Ottawa Police immediately launched an investigation and suspended Grus. (5)

The immediate suspension proves that the complaint was taken seriously.

From my own experience as a Toronto Police Sergeant Detective, I know that the Grus case was complex – requiring a formal investigative plan and an extended timeline to conduct a reasonably detailed investigation.

First there would have been an immediate operation to seize any evidence that might be vulnerable to change or loss. This would probably include documentation and forensic examinations of computer systems or paper files that held the information Detective Grus is alleged to have accessed.

There would be examination of and probably seizure of any computers, phones, or notebooks used by Detective Grus. Her desk and personal locker would have been searched for evidence.

Call records of the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit office phones and perhaps Grus’ personal cell phone would have been ordered. If she had been issued an OPS mobile phone, those records would be ordered, and the phone would be seized and forensically examined.

The seizure of evidence would continue throughout the investigation, but the initial flurry of activity to determine what could possibly be evidence and secure it would take at least a month of full-time work if done properly.

Then there would be interviews of all Ottawa Police witnesses and potential witnesses. Certainly each member of the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit would be interviewed, but there would be other police personnel interviewed as well.

Perhaps the alleged inquiries by Detective Grus were not all made by computer or in the paper files. Perhaps she made phone calls to enlist aid from the civilian members who maintain the records. Perhaps she contacted or met with other officers who attended the initial police 911 responses to the nine sudden infant deaths.

All these people would first have to be identified and then interviewed.

And then there are the Coroner(s) and staff members. It is alleged by the rogue police quoted in the CBC articles that Detective Grus contacted the coroner or coroners associated with each child’s death. Each of these people would have to be identified and then interviewed. Any documents obtained by Grus would have to be identified and copies obtained.

Was Detective Grus interviewed or did she make a statement during the investigation? As I recall, we don’t know that detail from the news articles or the hearings that were broadcast after she was charged. (If anyone recalls something different, please leave a comment with the information.)

The Grus Internal Investigation began during Freedom Convoy

The above is probably two or three months of work by Professional Standards investigators, but considering that this happened during the Ottawa Freedom Convoy, it is reasonable that some extra time would have been required.

Only after all that knowledge foundation was complete would the investigators interview the parents of the nine Sudden Infant Deaths that Grus had investigated. Those interviews (whether personal or calls) were probably meant to be well planned and perhaps pre-booked in advance to occur all on the same day so that no parent would hear of the investigation from the news media or outside the Professional Standards Unit.

So on March 24, 2022 when the CBC and journalist Shaamini Yogaretnam interfered with the investigation and issued an ultimatum to the Ottawa Police – the Grus investigation was proceeding normally and properly according to the plan and timetable that Professional Standards created at the start.

CBC and Yogaretnam knew that the investigation was proceeding normally.

Nonetheless, using information illegally obtained from rogue Ottawa Police officers, the CBC and Shaamini Yogaretnam deliberately interfered with, influenced, and even directed the Professional Standards investigation by issuing their ultimatum.

Undeniably, the CBC’s ultimatum to the Ottawa Police profoundly and irrevocably changed the investigation. The ultimatum was also the start of a CBC campaign to vilify Detective Grus and foment public outrage against her. The campaign undoubtedly led to the charge against Detective Grus.

More on the CBC campaign of outrage later.

CBC Grus Story Breaks – Victimizing the Parents of the Deceased Infants

CBC Reporter Shaamini Yogaretnam

The CBC broke Shaamini Yogaretnam’s Grus story at 4am Monday, March 28, 2022 with an article on the CBC website. (2)

Both in her article and during her March 28, 2022 CBC Radio appearance, Yogaretnam admitted that she had multiple sources within the Ottawa Police. During the interview on ‘Ottawa Morning’, she even provided the sources’ motivation for illegally providing her with the confidential information. (3)

Yogaretnam said of her rogue police sources…

“But I did hear from sources. You know, the the unit in which Grus works is, is widely known to have some of the most sensitive detectives on the force. They deal with sexual assault and child abuse victims. You know, these are challenging emotion and trauma-heavy cases. I have no doubt that sources were motivated to speak about this because it’s, you know, to their mind, a further victimization of who are innocent people who are having the worst time in their lives, that it strikes really at the heart of what police are supposed to do.

You know, it’s a it’s a difficult subject to talk about, especially on the radio, but every single police officer has that 911 call that they attended on patrol to find an unresponsive baby and inconsolable parents. That’s not an exaggeration. They are the most vulnerable of victims and and force-wide they are treated that way.”

CBC Hypocrisy & Crocodile Tears.

If anyone is to blame for any ‘further victimization’ of parents who lost a child, it is the CBC, journalist Shammini Yogaretnam, and her rogue Ottawa Police personnel.

Detective Helen Grus had nothing to do with the contrived public spectacle and deliberately manufactured outrage fomented by the the CBC.

Detective Grus did not criminally and maliciously release confidential police information into the public domain: her corrupt police colleagues and the CBC did that.

Yogaretnam, the CBC, and their rogue police sources ALL KNEW that the OPS Grus investigation was proceeding normally and properly. They knew there was no cover-up.

Therefore their motivations had nothing to do with whistleblowing, protecting the public interest, or ensuring an unbiased and professional investigation of the allegations against Detective Helen Grus.

Yagaretnam and the CBC wanted to break a big story so badly that they didn’t care if it hurt the poor parents who lost a child, or interfered with and influenced the ongoing OPS Professional Standards investigation.

Given all the circumstances and the stories published by the CBC, I have no doubt that it was the CBC’s and Yagaretnam’s intent to foment public outrage against Detective Grus – to influence the OPS internal investigation and to pressure the Ottawa Police to charge the officer.

Further, the CBC is dependent upon over a billion dollars in government funding, plus hundreds of millions in advertising revenues from various levels of government and government-funded organizations and businesses.

The governments and businesses that provide funding and advertising revenues to the CBC are pro-vaccine. The CBC is pro-vaccine – having mandated the mRNA shots for their employees (although now suspended). CBC counts Big Pharma companies like Pfizer among its advertisers.

The CBC’s well documented promotion of government vaccine mandate policy was another motivation for the CBC publish the Grus story without regard for the ‘further victimization’ of the poor parents who lost a child.

The CBC and Yagaretnam were, and are, so obviously agenda-driven and intensely biased against Detective Grus. More on this later.

Public Health Agency of Canada Involved

On September 15, 2022, I watched the Detective Helen Grus Hearing as broadcast by the Ottawa Police on Microsoft Teams.

Also watching the hearing was a Dr. Margaret De Groh of the Public Health Agency of Canada (‘PHAC’) – whose name and agency were prominently displayed on her PHAC Teams account.

The fact that the Public Health Agency of Canada was monitoring the Grus hearing and watched the entire session was visible to everyone – including Trials Officer Superintendent Chris Renwick, the prosecutor, and the Professional Standards investigators who laid the charge.

Dr. De Groh’s PHAC account appeared close to the top of the public attendees shown onscreen. At the start of the hearing Trials Officer Renwick commented that he could see “quite a few guests and members of the public” watching the hearing. He explained that journalists were allowed to record the proceedings for their own notes but were not allowed to broadcast the recordings.

(Superintendent Renwick did not explain the difference between “guests” and “members of the public” – but as mentioned later in this article, there is evidence that the OPS Professional Standards Unit and Dr. De Groh’s daughter, Sarah DelVillano, had communications about the Detective Grus case and the severity of the penalty that OPS should suggest to the court. I have no doubt that Ottawa Police Service would have records of these communications.)

Senior PHAC Scientific Manager: Dr. Margaret De Groh

National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) Connection

A basic Internet search revealed that Dr. De Groh is the Scientific Manager / PHAC Analysis Section, and is also associated with the PHAC ‘Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research’. She is a senior PHAC official and is apparently well respected. She has published over a hundred scientific / medical research reports – many with other senior researchers and analysts at PHAC as well as university researchers. Many of Dr. De Groh’s recent reports are about COVID and its societal impact.

I also discovered that personnel from the Public Health Agency of Canada are an integral part of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) – a government-funded organization providing guidance to the Federal Government of Canada on the use of vaccines.

PHAC organizational charts support the observation that Dr. De Groh is in the chain that works with, or communicates with, members of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization – and that her work is among the body of PHAC research considered by NACI.

The NACI recommendations were critical in the Trudeau government’s declaration of mandatory vaccination as a requirement for employment, travel, etc.

NACI also made the December 12, 2020 recommendation that (with consideration):

“… COVID-19 vaccine may be offered to individuals in the following populations:

Immunosuppressed due to disease or treatment or suffering from autoimmune disorder

Pregnant or breastfeeding

Adolescents 12 to 15 years of age”

Phone Call with PHAC Senior Official Dr. Margaret De Groh

Naturally I was curious when I saw that a senior and influential official from the Public Health Agency of Canada was following the Detective Grus Hearing – a case were an experienced police detective is charged for investigating the possibility that nine Sudden Infant Deaths were related to Covid vaccines and / or vaccinated breast-feeding mothers.

On October 12, 2022 journalist Matthew Horwood of the Western Standard published an article reporting that senior PHAC official Dr. Margaret De Groh was following the Grus Case. (Detective facing charge for link between infant deaths and COVID-19 vaccines ordered back to work)

The Western Standard article reported some of my research and analysis – but neither Matthew nor I knew at the time that Dr. De Groh’s infant granddaughter was one of the nine Sudden Infant Deaths investigated by Detective Grus.

Dr. De Groh’s daughter Sarah DelVillano (who is also a PHAC-published researcher) was one of the poor parents who lost a child.

All became known when on the afternoon of October 12, 2022 at 14:16hours, I called Dr. Margaret De Groh at her published work phone number.

The certified transcript appears later in this article along with a redacted voice recording of the call – with the exception of her phone number that I redacted. The call is summarized here:

  • Doctor De Groh answered the phone and identified herself by name.
  • I informed Dr. De Groh that I was a journalist writing an article for the Western Standard, and that I wanted to talk about her work.
  • She said she couldn’t talk without going through PHAC Media Relations, but she agreed to hear what I wanted to talk about.
  • I said “I have some information that you and the Public Health Agency of Canada have been closely following the trial of Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus. And, in fact, you met with officials of the Ottawa Police Service about this…”
  • Dr. De Groh denied meeting with the Ottawa Police Service and said that her interest in the case was “a personal matter”.
  • When she declined to provide any further information, I said I respected that and appreciated that she talked with me. We said our good-byes respectfully and professionally.

Lawyer Sarah DelVillano Calls Donald Best – October 12, 2022 14:23 hours

Only a few minutes after my call with Doctor De Groh, I received a call from a very angry Sarah DelVillano. She did not provide her name, however it was displayed on my mobile phone as:

SARAH DELVILLANO
1 (613) (phone number redacted)
Ottawa, Ontario

I did not know anything about Sarah DelVillano at the time of the call, including that she was an law student with the Ottawa law firm of Durant Barristers.

DelVillano informed me later in our conversation that she was recording the call. I acknowledged her statement and told her to go ahead. I did not tell her that I was also recording the call.

The certified transcript appears later in this article along with a redacted voice recording of the call – with the exception of her phone number that I redacted.

Ms. DelVillano first informed me that Dr. De Groh was her mother and that I was to never call her again. She said:

“We’re in the process of seeking legal counsel to, um, deal with Helen Grus. And if you contact my family ever again, you will be also involved in legal proceedings. Do you understand me, Mr. Best?”

I asked who she was and she said:

“I am one of the mothers that was attacked, was targeted by Detective Helen Grus.”

… and again threatened to make me a party to the proceeding against Detective Grus.

I informed Ms. DelVillano that I was a journalist doing my job, and offered my sympathy as any good person would, but she angrily called me “corrupt”:

“But you also need to understand that this witch hunt that you’re going on to think that everybody’s attacking Detective Helen Grus.

Detective Helen Grus is someone similar to you, who is a corrupt police officer who’s trying to find a name in the alternate right-wing media.”

Ms. DelVillano said that it was “re-traumatizing” every time that Detective Grus “came out” about her daughter’s death.

I did not argue or contradict her, but in fact Detective Grus and her lawyer have never spoken about the case. Journalists from the CBC, Rebel News, Western Standard, Epoch Times, Toronto Sun, Ottawa Citizen, and other news media confirmed to me that they have attempted to speak with Detective Grus and her lawyer without success.

When DelVillano stated that her daughter’s death had “nothing to do with COVID vaccine”, I asked if she (Sarah DelVillano) had been vaccinated. After some back and forth evident in the transcript, she admitted that she had been vaccinated, and stated that her daughter had died “before anything to do with the vaccine was even a thing.” (More on this later)

I again expressed my sympathies, but as you will read in the transcript Ms. DelVillano rebuffed my words and stated that my coverage of the Detective Grus case “re-victimize(s) me and the other families that are involved in this process.”

The she again threatened me:

“So you have identified yourself and I have told you what is going to happen if you contact me or my family ever again. And if I find I find that you publish something on your stupid website about this phone call. I will personally make sure that it comes down. Do you understand me?”

And ended the call by saying that Detective Grus is evil:

“So I’m getting really upset now. And now it’s gonna take me days to get over this phone call. Because every time I have to deal with this I have to think about my dead baby. Stop this witch hunt. Detective Helen Grus is evil. Period.”

After demanding that I never speak to her mother and her again, later that evening DelVillano called me twice just after 8:30pm. I did not answer the phone, but again took a screenshot of the call information.

Sarah DelVillano was upset – even on the edge as is evident in the recording – and I felt and still feel very sorry for her. As someone who has lost a child myself, how could I (or anyone) not be genuinely sympathetic to a mother in distress?

But there is another side of the story that must be told. I didn’t know anything about Sarah DelVillano when she called me – but I do now.

 

Justice requires the truth. Canadians (and Detective Grus) deserve to know the truth about the politically-motivated charge against a dedicated, diligent, and courageous police officer.

Canadians also deserve to know about the outside influences and lobbying that undoubtedly led to the Ottawa Police charging Detective Grus.

Lawyer Sarah DelVillano – Actively Targeting Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus

This is the story of how Ottawa Lawyer Sarah DelVillano has from the beginning, been very much part of the outside influences and lobbying against Detective Grus – and how (so far) she has been successful in lobbying and influencing the Ottawa Police without having to reveal identity and her actions to the public.

DelVillano is a very public person on her social media accounts. For years she has openly shared her employment, interests, and personal life for all to see. In researching this article, I have collected her social media posts going back a few years.

I think that she is someone to be admired in many areas of her life. For years DelVillano worked “on the front line” as she put it to me during our talk – referring to her employment with various organizations looking after drug addicts and the poorest of society on the streets of Toronto and Ottawa.

She put herself through law school while working and raising children – and fully credits her ‘stay-at-home’ husband without whom she says she would not have been able to achieve what she has.

Memorial to Hazel Wray – from Sarah DelVillano’s public Twitter account.

Tragedy – A Lost Daughter

As documented on DelVillano’s social media, she lost her one year old daughter, Hazel Wray, in a Sudden Infant Death at her Ottawa home on June 26, 2021. Hazel was one of two children and is prominently remembered on DelVillano’s twitter feed – including a photo of DelVillano at her law school graduation holding Hazel’s sister Abigail and a stuffed Elephant with ‘Hazel Wray’ embroidered on the ear.

In July 2021, DelVillano publicly shared that although meningitis was initially suspected as the cause of Hazel’s death, a Winnipeg medical lab confirmed that no meningitis was detected. DelVillano wrote: “Back to square one and the agonizing pain of not knowing why our baby left us so soon.”

DelVillano’s Campaign Against Detective Helen Grus

On March 31, 2022, the CBC published Shaamini Yogaretnam’s article ‘Grieving mother not told nature of misconduct in probe of baby’s death: lawyer’

In the article, journalist Yogaretnam called Detective Helen Grus “an anti-vaccine Ottawa police detective going rogue” – an incredibly biased declaration by the CBC that shows the agenda and purpose behind the article.

The subject of the article is the unnamed mother of one of the sudden infant deaths investigated by Detective Grus – and how the grieving mother was “re-traumatized” because Detective Grus looked into her daughter’s “still open sudden death investigation of her infant” who died in 2021 at one-year old.

“Re-traumatizing” is also the term and theme in DelVillano’s conversation with me.

The lawyer giving the interview is Sarah DelVillano’s employer Erin Durant of Durant Barristers.

I think we can put the pieces together here and acknowledge that Erin Durant’s anonymous client is Sarah DelVillano.

Lawyer Durant also made it clear that “her client is considering what her legal rights and remedies are in the case.”

This is a threat that DelVillano is considering suing Detective Grus and the Ottawa Police (as she told me in the call)… but if she’s going to sue, she should probably include the CBC, journalist Shaamini Yogaretnam, and the rogue Ottawa Police who illegally provided confidential information that led to DelVillano’s “re-traumatization”.

In the article, journalist Yogaretnam called Detective Helen Grus “an anti-vaccine Ottawa police detective going rogue” – an incredibly biased declaration by the CBC that shows the agenda and purpose behind the article.,..

The lawyer for a woman whose child’s death investigation was allegedly breached by an anti-vaccine Ottawa police detective going rogue says police only notified the grieving mother of a “vague privacy breach” on Friday afternoon.

No bias there!

It is interesting to note that not one of the other SIDS parents has surfaced in the media.

I speculate – based on my experience as a police officer investigating many family tragedies – that the vast majority of SIDS parents would not be upset by Detective Grus’ investigation of their child’s death. Rather, they would appreciate that a dedicated police officer cared enough about their child to find answers and the truth – whatever that truth might be.

DelVillano’s Anti-Grus Campaign

Sometime after the ‘re-traumatization’ article on March 31, 2022, it appears that Sarah DelVillano or her lawyer contacted the Ottawa Police to submit a ‘Victim Impact’ statement which was apparently refused. An August 17, 2022 Ottawa Citizen article by Matthew Lapierre quotes an anonymous DelVillano. The article again calls Detective Grus a ‘rogue’ police officer:

The woman is also questioning why she, as a victim who has suffered directly as a result of Grus’ alleged actions, isn’t being further included in the disciplinary process.

“How can they have this disciplinary process without assessing what impact this has had on victims and the people affected by it?” she asked. “We seem to be just an annoyance to them. If they would have had it their way, this all would have gone on without our knowledge, based on what I can observe.”

Ottawa Citizen, August 17, 2022 Bereaved mother outraged by support for Ottawa police detective charged with misconduct for alleged rogue investigation into vaccines.

It is interesting that Shaamini Yogaretnam and the CBC did not publish a similar article in August 2022 after Detective Grus appeared for her initial internal hearing. Perhaps DelVillano first approached Yogaretnam with her ‘quotes’ but for some reason the CBC was no longer interested?

The CBC has not covered the Detective Grus case since the March 31, 2022 article. Do Yogaretnam and the CBC regret they stepped way over the line that divides ‘Reporting’ from ‘Creating the News’?

I did not make the connection at the time because I had no idea who DelVillano was, but after the Grus August hearing she began to appear on my twitter feed making anti-Grus comments in response to some of my articles and tweets about the case. DelVillano did not identify herself as an involved person or a lawyer.

In one tweet, DelVillano stated:

“Helen Grus is yet another candidate for the crooked cop to extremist politician pipeline that you know so well.”

In relation to the upcoming September hearing, DelVillano stated that she had been talking with Ottawa Police Professional Standards Unit about the broadcasting of the hearing. It is also of note that some of the organizations that DelVillano works with – such as Ottawa Inner City Health – partner with the Ottawa Police Service.

Even after calling me on October 12, 2022 and prohibiting me from communicating with her, DelVillano continued to post comments on my Twitter feed. I didn’t reply to them, but found it strange that she would order me to not communicate with her, and then attempt to initiate communications with me on social media.

In 2023, DelVillano continued to be active on social media about the Grus case. At one point she tweeted to me, the Ottawa Police, and a few other readers saying that (we) should read the August 17, 2022 Ottawa Citizen article ‘Bereaved mother outraged by support for Ottawa police detective charged with misconduct for alleged rogue investigation into vaccines.’

This was in response to my article detailing research showing vaccine harms to breastfeeding Infants: ‘Detective Helen Grus proven Correct to Suspect Vaccine Harm to Breastfeeding Infants.’

 

Conflicts of Interest – Breastfeeding, Vaccines, and Infant Deaths and Injuries

Humans are complex creatures – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Long ago I learned that knowing what truly motivates a person’s actions is often impossible. In many cases, people can’t even identify their own motivations for what they do. We’ve often heard from others, and perhaps even thought ourselves on occasion: “I don’t know why I did that.”

So I am unable to know Sarah DelVillano’s motivations for targeting Detective Grus, or why she thinks that she speaks for all the parents of the nine SIDS infants that Detective Grus looked into. Certainly if other parents felt the same way as DelVillano, they could have – and probably would have – come forward anonymously as she did.

I believe, however, that there is a good chance that the other parents appreciate that Detective Grus was diligently doing her job, and that as with all police officers, she has the authority and independence to launch any investigation as she sees fit. That right and duty comes with the badge.

But none of those other parents are in the situation that Sarah DelVillano and her mother Dr. Margaret De Groh find themselves in…

  • We know from DelVillano’s postings and photos on public social media that she breastfeeds her babies.
  • We know that DelVillano was / is COVID vaccinated.
  • We know that her mother is deeply involved with the Public Health Agency of Canada research and policies that supported and / or caused the government’s vaccine mandates and messaging that the vaccine was ‘safe and effective’ – even for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
  • We know that Sarah DelVillano herself has had research published by the Public Health Agency of Canada and that she collaborated with other PHAC personnel as well as her mother.
  • We know that DelVillano read my article detailing research showing that mRNA vaccines are found in breastmilk and that Official CDC VAERS data confirms serious side effects and deaths of breastfed infants whose mothers received the COVID-19 vaccine.

That is a complex scenario that might involve doubts, cross-loyalties, and personal denial that the vaccine could have had anything to do with baby Hazel’s unexplained Sudden Infant Death.

Yes, I feel deeply sorry for both Sarah DelVillano and her mother Dr. Margaret De Groh.

I also believe that the truth needs to be told of how Shaamini Yogaretnam and the CBC used DelVillano for a quick hit against Detective Helen Grus and then tossed her aside.

 

Rogue Ottawa Police – Motivation for Their Criminal Acts

(Section to be posted soon)

 

CBC’s Bias: Pro-Vaccine and Against Detective Grus

“… an anti-vaccine Ottawa police detective going rogue.”

(Section to be posted soon)

 

STORY NOTES:

(1) See CBC News article Grieving mother not told nature of misconduct in probe of baby’s death: lawyer

“CBC News went to the service for comment on the allegations against Grus on March 24 and gave Ottawa police a next-day deadline.

One of those questions was whether police had notified all of the families in the cases that were allegedly accessed by Grus.”

(2)

(3) See full transcript of the March 28, 2022 CBC Radio Yogaretnam interview in the transcript section of this article.

Selected Quotes from the Transcript

Robyn Bresnahan (‘Hallie’?) 02:19

You keep on saying allegedly that this this story came about from sources. Why were the sources willing to speak out about this, do you think?

Shaamini Yogaretnam 02:30

Yeah, I keep saying allegedly because you know, these are allegations. No charges have yet been laid against her. But I did hear from sources. You know, the the unit in which Grus works is, is widely known to have some of the most sensitive detectives on the force. They deal with sexual assault and child abuse victims. You know, these are challenging emotion and trauma-heavy cases. I have no doubt that sources were motivated to speak about this because it’s, you know, to their mind, a further victimization of who are innocent people who are having the worst time in their lives, that it strikes really at the heart of what police are supposed to do. You know, it’s a it’s a difficult subject to talk about, especially on the radio, but every single police officer has that 911 call that they attended on patrol to find an unresponsive baby and inconsolable parents. That’s not an exaggeration. They are the most vulnerable of victims and and force-wide they are treated that way.

(4)

(5) During her the March 28, 2022 CBC Radio interview, Yogaretnam implies that her rogue police sources were from the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit. I am assuming that the original internal complaint against Grus would have the same origin.

 

Revision Table of Changes to this Article

1.0 – Published April 27, 2023 – 23:00hrs, Toronto time

1.1 – Published April 28, 2023 – 13:10hrs, Toronto time

(Corrected some paragraph line breaks. Corrected date of CBC article from March 30, 2022 to March 31, 2022. Formatted some text from plain to bold and / or italics. No words were changed. Added photo of CBC Reporter Shaamini Yogaretnam)

1.2 – Published April 28, 2012 – 15:05hrs, Toronto time

(Adds Audio Recordings for the October 12, 2022 De Groh and DelVillano phone calls, as well as the March 28, 2022 CBC Radio interview of Yogaretnam)

1.3 – Published May 5, 2023 – 10:57hrs, Toronto time

(Adds ‘Read More’ tag before verbatim transcripts)

 

Transcripts & Recordings

October 12, 2022 – Donald Best calls PHAC Dr. Margaret De Groh – REDACTED

October 12, 2022 – Sarah DelVillano calls Donald Best – REDACTED

March 28, 2022 – CBC Radio Interview of Journalist Shaamini Yogaretnam

 

Read more

Ottawa Police Cancel Internet Broadcast of Detective Grus ‘Sudden Infant Deaths’ Trial – Conceal Judge’s Decisions From Public – Lie to Journalist & Public (In Writing)

Ottawa Police Service stop broadcasting the trial of Detective Helen Grus – despite (or perhaps because of) intense public interest in Canada and worldwide.

Since September 2022, every appearance by Detective Grus before the Internal Trials Officer has been publicly broadcast on the Internet via MicroSoft Teams – but Ottawa Police have now arbitrarily decided to prevent citizens and journalists outside Ottawa from witnessing the upcoming April 28, 2023 motions hearing online.

Only local Ottawa journalists will have first-hand access to the Grus trial. This includes the same agenda-driven news media that first published confidential information criminally provided to them by rogue Ottawa Police officers.

The mainstream media has covered the Grus case extensively: CBC, Global News, CTV, Globe & Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Sun Newspapers, Epoch Times, Western Standard, Rebel News and more. The Grus case is also heavily covered and discussed on social media.

My writings and interviews alone about the Grus case have been accessed over one million times since August 2022 from all over Canada and the world.

Ottawa Police stop Internet Broadcasting of the Grus trial – despite continuing to broadcast other internal cases.

So much for the declaration by famed New York Police Detective Frank Serpico that the public broadcasting of the Detective Grus Internal Hearing was a “breakthrough in Police transparency.”

Concealing a Weak, Politically-Motivated Case from the Public

Detective Grus faces a single internal Police Services Act charge of ‘Discreditable Conduct’ for allegedly conducting “unauthorized” investigations into nine Sudden Infant Deaths – where she sought to know the vaccine status of the mothers.

Ottawa Police launched an internal investigation and suspended Detective Grus in early February 2022. Grus was formally charged on July 26, 2022, and the case has been before the internal Trials Officer on several dates since then.

“The actions of the Ottawa Police Service in ceasing to broadcast the Grus trial, and in withholding certain legal documents from journalists, make it obvious that OPS wishes to limit public attention and control the news media reporting as best as it can.”

As I reported on March 7, 2023, it is evident from watching the previous Grus appearances before the court that the Charge Against Ottawa Police Detective Helen Grus is Falling Apart.

Enough medical evidence exists to justify Detective Grus’ professional investigative concerns that there is a potential connection between the mRNA Covid ‘vaccine’ status of the mothers and the sudden deaths of the nine infants.

Detective Grus therefore acted diligently and responsibly in her investigations. Her professionalism should have been admired and rewarded – yet for reasons that need to be explained by the Ottawa Police, Grus was suspended, charged with ‘Discreditable Conduct’, and notified that she would be fired if found guilty.

Rogue Ottawa Police Officers criminally provided confidential information to CBC Journalist Shaamini Yogaretnam

Yogaretnam then actively interfered with the ongoing internal investigation.

It is entirely relevant to the charge against Detective Grus that shortly after she was suspended in early February, 2022 – multiple rogue Ottawa Police officers criminally provided confidential information about the ongoing investigation to CBC journalist Shaamini Yogaretnam.

Yogaretnam broke the story in written articles and broadcasts on March 28, 2022 after actively interfering with the internal police investigation.

Before publishing the information provided by rogue police officers, the CBC presented an ultimatum to the Ottawa Police Service on a Thursday afternoon – that the police had only 24 hours to respond before CBC broke the story.

The ultimatum also contained the inherent threat that if the police hadn’t yet contacted the parents of the nine SIDS babies – the parents would be notified of the investigation by the CBC article.

With that, the CBC effectively became the director of the internal investigation – forcing the police to throw out their investigative plan and dance to the CBC’s tune.

According to news articles, the ultimatum caused Ottawa Police to hurriedly contact the involved parents late on a Friday – totally upsetting the investigative plan that was undoubtedly in place.

CBC Reporter Shaamini Yogaretnam

The involved parents were potential witnesses who had not yet been contacted or interviewed by the Professional Standards Unit. (Of course they hadn’t yet been interviewed. Investigators would still have been collecting background information so their witness interviews would be grounded in knowledge.)

Yogaretnam and CBC knew that publishing confidential information would cause chaos with the internal investigation that was still in an early stage – but they made the ultimatum and published anyway.

The rogue Ottawa Police officers who illegally provided the confidential information to Yogaretnam undoubtedly knew and intended that their actions would cause chaos in the internal investigation. (The Criminal Code Section 129 calls that ‘Obstruct Police’)

Ottawa Police Concealing Legal Motions and Judge’s Decisions From Public and Journalists

In my February 5, 2023 article Ottawa Police Conceal Legal Motions in Detective Grus Case – Sudden Infant Deaths, I reported that Ottawa Police refuse to provide journalists with the written legal motions filed in the trial of Detective Helen Grus.

From the article:

“Most legal motions filed in real Canadian courts are public – to ensure transparency and promote public confidence in the legal process.

In the Grus case, Ottawa Police have chosen to arbitrarily and without explanation, conceal filed legal motions from the public and the news media.

Ottawa Police prosecutors know that they can get away with hiding legal motions from the public because it would take a legal motion by interested news media to force transparency – which would be prohibitively expensive.”

Ottawa Police Conceal Judge’s Motion Decision from Public – and lie about it.

For over two months, multiple Ottawa Police personnel intentionally deceived and outright lied to me in writing (and lied to the public on the OPS website) about Trial Officer Chris Renwick’s decision concerning the December 29, 2022 defense motion in the Grus case.

“As I realized that multiple Ottawa Police personnel were lying to me in writing, and coordinating this with each other – I thought I would be upset, angered, or even outraged. Instead, I feel a tremendous sadness to learn that the very police personnel in charge of maintaining professional standards and officially communicating to journalists and the public – cannot be trusted to tell the truth.”

At the last hearing on December 6, 2022, Canadians learned that Grus’s defense lawyer Bath-Sheba Van den Berg was to file a written motion by December 29, 2022 to demand additional disclosure. The prosecution would then reply in writing.

Trials Officer (retired) Superintendent Chris Renwick stated he would issue a decision about the disclosure motion early in January.

Trial Officer’s stated deadline posted on Ottawa Police website in Dec 2022

The Ottawa Police ‘Disciplinary Hearings and Decisions’ webpage was immediately updated, stating:

“Constable Helen Grus. Ruling on motion to be delivered first week of January.”

When the decision did not appear in January, I had a series of emails in February with various police officers at both the Ottawa Police Media Relations and the Professional Standards Unit – wherein I was assured that:

1/ Trials Officer Superintendent Renwick had not yet made a decision concerning the December 29, 2022 Disclosure Motion by Defense lawyer Bath-Sheba van den Berg, and…

2/ When the Trials Officer made his decision, it would be posted online for the public and journalists.

When February came and went with no decision by the Trials Officer, the Ottawa Police then changed their ‘Disciplinary Hearings and Decisions’ webpage to state:

“Constable Helen Grus. Ruling on motion to be delivered in March.”

Ottawa Police posted this lie online and deceived the public.

On March 7, 2023, I reported “The Internal Trials Officer is two months overdue with his Evidence Disclosure Decision.”

Insp. Hugh O’Toole

On April 4, 2023 I had a series of emails with both OPS Professional Standards and Media Relations personnel wherein I was again informed that the Trials Officer had not yet made a decision regarding the December 29, 2022 defense motion.

Inspector Hugh O’Toole is the officer in charge of the Ottawa Police Professional Standards Unit.

During the series of emails, personnel from the Professional Standards Unit updated the ‘Disciplinary Hearings and Decisions’ webpage to state:

“Constable Helen Grus. April 28, 2023 at 9.30, Room 205 19 Fairmont”

Later in the thread, several OPS emails contain deceptive language and a refusal to directly answer this request:

“It is now April and no decision has been posted in the Detective Grus case.

If the decision has been made, please send it to me and / or post online as earlier promised.

If the decision has not been made, please advise the reason for the three-month delay.”

Ottawa Police Manipulating News Media Coverage Through Coordinated Deceit

Trials Officer Supt Chris Renwick

If Trials Officer Chris Renwick made his awaited ‘January’ decision before April 4, 2023, it means that multiple Ottawa Police personnel from both Professional Standards and Media Relations colluded as a group, and coordinated their communications – to lie to me, and to deceive and manipulate both the news media and the public.

The deceptive language in the April 4th emails, plus my communications record with Ottawa Police personnel cause me to strongly believe – to know – that the OPS lied to the public and to me.

I have no doubt that Trials Officer Chris Renwick already delivered his ‘January’ decision, but the Ottawa Police are lying about it in emails and on the OPS website – to deceive both the public and journalists.

None of this is said lightly. I am publicly accusing multiple Ottawa Police personnel of misconduct.

As I realized that multiple Ottawa Police personnel were lying to me in writing, and coordinating this with each other – I thought I would be upset, angered, or even outraged. Instead, I feel a tremendous sadness to learn that the very police personnel in charge of maintaining professional standards and officially communicating to journalists and the public – cannot be trusted to tell the truth.

Donald Best

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