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Share this Story : Ottawa detective found guilty of discreditable conduct over unauthorized child-death investigations Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Breadcrumb Trail Links News Local News Ottawa detective found guilty of discreditable conduct over unauthorized child-death investigations The case involved an unauthorized investigation into the deaths of nine children and contacting the father of one deceased baby to inquire about the mother's vaccination status. Author of the article: Staff Reporter Published Mar 25, 2025 • Last updated 8 hours ago • 2 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account.
Ottawa Police Service headquarters on Elgin Street in Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell / POSTMEDIA Article content A disciplinary process that began more than two and a half years ago has resulted in a guilty verdict on a charge of discreditable conduct for an Ottawa police detective who performed an unauthorized investigation into the deaths of nine children or infants and contacted the father of one deceased baby to inquire about the mother’s COVID-19 vaccination status. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address Continue or View more offers If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now Article content The ruling in the case against Det. Helen Grus by hearing officer and retired superintendent Chris Renwick was posted online Tuesday.
It did not specify a penalty. The disciplinary process had played out over 30 days of hearings between August 2022 and January 2025 and with testimony from 14 witnesses, including Grus. “In their totality, the actions of Det.
Grus set out in the Notice of Hearing would be concerning to the community as it introduced an element of a personally held bias into serious investigations involving the death of infants. There were no checks and balances, no consultation with the coroner or medical community, and the criminal inquiries were undertaken without the knowledge or authorization of the Service,” Renwick’s decision said. “A reasonable person would understand the community’s collective response of concern should they have learnt that such unauthorized criminal negligence inquiries on public officials were being undertaken by a criminal investigator within (the Ottawa Police Service’s Sexual Assault and Child Abuse unit).
The public would expect their police service to exercise proper and effective oversight and authority over their employees to ensure a bias free approach when conducting criminal investigations.” Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The charge laid under the Police Service Act alleged that between June 2020 and January 2022 Grus had initiated an unauthorized project in which she accessed nine child or infant death cases in which she had no investigative role and failed to record her involvement or finding in the files.
Further, in January 2022, she interfered in the investigation of an infant death without the knowledge or authorization of the case’s lead detective by contacting the father about the mother’s vaccination status. The identities of the nine deceased children were protected by a publication ban. Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed.
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