Charges in Joshua Caleb Baker 2010 death

[PMedMoe]

Tribunal hears negligence killed soldier

It was supposed to be a simple day on the firing range. But due to the negligence of a Canadian Forces reservist, it turned deadly tragic, a prosecutor told a Calgary court martial Tuesday.

Anthony Tamburro told a panel consisting of five senior military officer the criminal negligence of Maj. Darryl Watts, then a platoon captain stationed in Afghanistan, was to blame for the death of Cpl. Joshua Baker.

Baker was one of the soldiers under Watts' command on Feb. 12, 2009, when a training exercise went horribly wrong.

That day "was supposed to be just a simple day at the range," Tamburro said, in his opening address to the five-man panel. "It turned out not to be a simple day ... the day ended in tragedy."

Watts, 44, faces six charges in connection with Baker's death, the most serious being manslaughter.

More at link

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2012/11/26/20386706.html

Reservist says he wasn't in charge of range where soldier killed

By Kevin Martin, Calgary Sun


Maj. Darryl Watts, the Calgary army reservist charged with manslaughter in an Afghan training exercise, testified Monday he was not the officer in command of the firing range.

And Watts told defence lawyer Balfour Der he wasn't even familiar with the C19 mines, which were test fired at the end of the Feb. 12, 2010 drill northeast of Kandahar city.
Watts, testifying at his Calgary court martial hearing at Mewata Armoury, said he delegated the responsibility of the C19 range to his second-in-command, Warrant Officer Paul Ravensdale.
He said he was only in charge of one of the four ranges set up at Kan Kala, in the desert just northeast of Kandahar.

"Each range ... was under the supervision of one individual who was trained to conduct that range," Watts told a five-member jury panel of senior officers presiding over his court martial.
Watts, 42, faces six charges, including manslaughter in connection with the explosion which killed Cpl. Joshua Baker and injured four other soldiers who were members of his platoon. 
 
If convicted Watts could face a number of punishments, from a reduction in rank, to imprisonment.
Ravensdale is to face a similar hearing on the same charges in the new year.

Watts' hearing continues.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Calgary major's manslaughter verdict in hands of jury
The Canadian Press Posted: Dec 1, 2012 5:24 PM MT Last Updated: Dec 1, 2012 5:23 PM MT

Maj. Darryl Watts faces six charges, including manslaughter, in the Afghanistan training range death of 24-year-old Cpl. Josh Baker. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

The fate of a Canadian reservist charged in a fatal training accident in Afghanistan has been placed in the hands of a military jury.

Maj. Darryl Watts, 44, faces charges that include manslaughter, unlawfully causing bodily harm, breach of duty and negligent performance of duty.

Cmdr. Peter Lamont, the military judge overseeing the court martial in Calgary, delivered a two-hour charge to the five-member jury panel late Saturday afternoon.

"The time has come for you to make your finding," said Lamont. "You have now heard all of the evidence. In every court martial there are two judges. I am one — you are the other," he said.

"You are the judges of the facts. You — not I — will determine the evidence in this case."

Cpl. Josh Baker, 24, died and four other soldiers were injured when a Claymore anti-personnel mine, packed with 700 steel balls, peppered their platoon on a training range near Kandahar city in February 2010.

The Crown argues that Watts, who was the platoon commander, turned a blind eye to safety standards and abdicated his duty as a leader during the exercise.

"Maj. Watts, being the platoon commander having ordered his platoon onto that range, is responsible for the conduct of the range," said senior prosecutor Maj. Tony Tamburro in an interview with reporters Saturday.

"He can delegate certain tasks to his subordinates but he still remains accountable for the way those tasks are performed."

The defence counters that Watts had no training on the Claymore, so he handed over responsibility for safety to his second-in-command, who was an expert on the weapon.

Cmdr. Lamont told the panel it had to be sure within a reasonable doubt that Watts was guilty of the charges he has been charged with and that every person charged with an offence is presumed to be innocent.

"You must find the accused innocent of the offence unless the prosecution proves it beyond a reasonable doubt," said Lamont.

The platoon, which was stationed at Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar city, usually visited the Kan Kala firing range about once a month.

The day of the accident the range was divided into four training sections.

The first two tests of the anti-personnel mine went off without a hitch. But when the second firing occurred, the ball bearings fired backwards, hitting Baker and four others.

Videos of the accident show several soldiers, including Watts, standing around watching the tests. They were not inside armoured vehicles or standing behind them for cover, as set out in Canadian Forces safety guidelines.

Maj. Tamburro acknowledged that it was a difficult case to prosecute.

"Negligence cases are always somewhat difficult because we're not alleging crimes of intent here. No one has ever alleged that Maj. Watts intentionally harmed anyone or killed anyone," Tamburro said.

Cmdr. Lamont also warned the jury not to go beyond deciding the guilt or innocence of the accused.

"Punishment has no place in your discussion or in your decision," said Lamont.

"It is my job — not yours — to decide what kind of punishment is appropriate."

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Seek and accept responsibility

"The defence counters that Watts had no training on the Claymore, so he handed over responsibility for safety to his second-in-command, who was an expert on the weapon."

Or not.

Lunney did, now this guy needs too.

 

[Maxadia]

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/calgary-reservist-maj-darryl-watts-found-not-guilty-of-manslaughter-1.1065608

A military jury has found a Calgary reservist not guilty of manslaughter, but guilty of negligent performance and unlawfully causing bodily harm, more than two years after a deadly training accident in Afghanistan.
Maj. Darryl Watts, 44, was also found not guilty of two counts of breach of duty.
The five-member military panel produced the verdict after deliberating for four days.
PHOTOS

Capt. Darryl Watts speaks during an interview with The Canadian Press in Calgary Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Watts faced a court martial on six charges that included manslaughter, unlawfully causing bodily harm, breach of duty and negligent performance of duty.
Cpl. Josh Baker, 24, died and four other soldiers were injured after a Claymore anti-personnel mine struck their platoon on a training range near Kandahar city in February 2010. Watts -- who held the rank of captain at the time and was the platoon commander -- was accused of failing to ensure the safety of his charges.
The Crown prosecutor argued that Watts abdicated his duty as a leader and failed to ensure his troops followed proper safety standards. Watts' lawyers, meanwhile, argued that he had no training on the Claymore mines and was not qualified to run a firing-range exercise -- something he had made clear to his superiors.
After voicing his concerns, the defence said, Watts handed over responsibility for the troops' safety to his second-in-command, Warrant Officer (ret'd) Paul Ravensdale, an expert on the explosive mine involved.
In court testimony last week, Watts admitted he was in charge of the platoon but not the specific training exercise that killed Baker.
The prosecution, however, called a number of witnesses in an attempt to demonstrate that Watts had the authority to either move the soldiers further away or cease the exercise altogether, and was therefore ultimately responsible for what happened.
Three of the soldiers who were injured in the blast took the stand during the court martial, describing the incident as a disorganized training exercise where some soldiers were given safety briefings while others were not.
None of them felt that Watts was responsible, however, saying he was a conscientious leader.
Military judge Cmdr. Peter Lamont instructed the five-member panel to use their "common sense and experience" in reaching a verdict.
Capt. Christopher Lunney -- the superior officer to both Watts and Ravensdale -- pleaded guilty in September to negligent performance of a military duty. He had his rank of major reduced.
Ravensdale faces the same charges as Watts, but his court martial has not yet been convened.
Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan ended in 2011. In total, 157 Canadian soldiers were killed over nine years.
Close to 1,000 Canadian military personnel remain in the country, serving in training roles.


Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/calgary-reservist-maj-darryl-watts-found-not-guilty-of-manslaughter-1.1065608#ixzz2E7fNCP7g

 

[FJAG]

Verdict is in on the Maj Watts trial.

Not guilty of manslaughter and two other charges but guilty of negligent performance of a military duty and unlawfully causing bodily harm.

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/major-found-not-guilty-of-manslaughter-in-training-death-1.1065573

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

FJAG when do you anticipated his punishment coming down?

 

[Occam]

FJAG when do you anticipated his punishment coming down?

Sentencing starts Jan 14, according to this story.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Appreciated

 

[old medic]

Training manslaughter court martial begins in Shilo

Winnipeg Sun
28 Jan 2013

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/01/28/training-manslaughter-court-martial-begins-in-shilo

A court martial beginning today in CFB Shilo will probe whether a former military officer, previously based in Winnipeg, was responsible for a comrade's death in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Joshua Caleb Baker, of Edmonton, was 24 when he was killed near Kandahar City in a Feb. 12. 2010, incident on a training range in which four other soldiers were injured.

Military officials said at the time that Baker died during the course of "a routine military exercise."

.....Article continues at link.

 

[old medic]

CTV Winnipeg
28 Jan 2013

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/former-soldier-pleads-not-guilty-to-six-charges-including-manslaughter-1.1132378

Paul Ravensdale, a retired warrant officer, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges Monday at a court martial in Shilo.

The charges are for a training accident in February 2010 that killed Cpl. Joshua Baker and injured four other soldiers in Afghanistan.

Ravensdale is accused of manslaughter, unlawfully causing bodily harm, two counts of breach of duty and two counts of negligence.

Cpl. Baker was hit in the chest with a C-19 Claymore explosive.

The anti-personnel mine was loaded with steel balls. Something went wrong on the day in question, and many of the balls shot backward, piercing the bodies of the soldiers.

Prosecutor Maj. Tony Tamburro said the incident “was entirely foreseeable and entirely preventable.”

The prosecution is set to call 22 witnesses. The first, Christoper Lunney, said Ravensdale seemed “very capable” and the range exercise was “his opportunity to put his mark on the platoon.”

When the prosecution asked Lunney if anything prevented Ravensdale from asking soldiers to take cover in the trucks while the weapon was being fired, he said no.

Lunney previously pleaded guilty for his role and was demoted to captain from major following the shooting range accident.

Maj. Darryl Watts is also awaiting sentencing on charges of negligence and unlawfully causing bodily harm.

The court martial case for Ravensdale is set to continue for three weeks.

 

[FJAG]

FJAG when do you anticipated his punishment coming down?

The current court martial schedule has him slated to reappear on Feb 20th. I expect sentencing will take place on that day.

 

[old medic]

'All hell broke loose and I... don't know what happened'
Video shows soldiers standing in direct sight of landmine
30 Jan 2013
The Canadian Press

SHILO, Man. -- Three days after leading a training exercise that went horribly wrong and killed a fellow soldier, warrant officer Paul Ravensdale told a military investigator he had no idea what caused the accident.

"All hell broke loose and I honestly don't know what happened," Ravensdale is heard saying in a recorded interview played Tuesday at his court martial at CFB Shilo in Manitoba.

"I honestly felt I did everything right."

Ravensdale, who is now retired, faces six charges -- including manslaughter and unlawfully causing bodily harm -- in the accident that occurred on a weapons range in Afghanistan on Feb. 12, 2010.

Soldiers were testing anti-personnel landmines, C-19s, that were new to the mission.

When the landmines are detonated during tests, soldiers are supposed to be far behind the weapons, sheltered in dugouts or inside vehicles, prosecutors have said.

Ravensdale is accused of ignoring those rules by letting soldiers stand near the weapons without any cover.

The first set of mines was set off without any trouble. During the second firing, some of the 700 small steel balls packed inside one mine shot backwards instead of forward.

Four balls struck Cpl. Josh Baker, including one in the chest that killed him. Four other soldiers suffered puncture wounds -- one had an injured kidney.

Ravensdale told the investigator he had given a safety briefing on the range in which he told everyone to stand well back of the weapon and behind light armoured vehicles, or LAVs.

He gave the order to set off the weapon and the soldier charged with the detonation did so.

The force of the explosion surprised him, he told the investigator.

"It sounded a hell of a lot bigger than it should have been."

Prosecutor Maj. Tony Tamburro said outside the hearing that even if the explosion went awry, the soldiers should have been protected.

"The prosecution is alleging that... had the safety regulations been followed, regardless of why the ball bearings fired backwards, people would have been safe."

Tamburro played a short video of the first firing, which shows two soldiers beside -- not behind -- a LAV and in direct sight of the landmine.

"They were not under cover, so there was nothing between them and the (mines) being detonated," he later told reporters.

The video was shot by Master Cpl. Scott Lawrence, a medic who testified he only had "his armour and the camera" between himself and the landmine.

Under cross-examination by Ravensdale's lawyer, Lawrence admitted he felt safe where he was standing.

"I did feel I was not in danger at that point," Lawrence said. "I felt fairly safe, with the armour I was wearing."

Lawrence tended to the wounded after the accident and recalled performing CPR on Baker, who was medevaced by helicopter with the other injured soldiers.

Ravensdale would later tell the investigator he was puzzled as to how he managed to escape injury while others were hit. "I honestly don't know why I didn't get hit."

Two other soldiers have already been convicted in the accident.

Maj. Christopher Lunney has been demoted to captain and given a severe reprimand after pleading guilty to negligent performance of duty in the incident.

Maj. Darryl Watts is awaiting sentencing on charges of negligence and unlawfully causing bodily harm.

Ravensdale's court martial is expected to last three weeks.

 

[old medic]

Emotional day in military court at C.F.B. Shilo
CTV Winnipeg
04 Feb 2013

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/emotional-day-in-military-court-at-c-f-b-shilo-1.1143007

It was an emotional day of testimony inside the trial of a former Canadian Forces Commander.

Retired Warrant Officer Paul Ravensdale pleaded not guilty to six charges including manslaughter in death of Corporal Joshua Baker. The 24-year-old died during a training accident in Afghanistan in 2010.  Four other soldiers were injured.

Those soldiers testified for the first time Monday.

They told the military court on Feb. 12, 2010, the only thing standing between them and the C-19 they were learning to use was their body armor. The prosecution says Ravensdale should have never let that happen.

They were standing out in the open when two C-19 land mines, also known as claymores, were set off during a training exercise.

Cpl. Joshua Baker was killed when shrapnel from one of the explosions backfired.

The commander, now retired Warrant officer Paul Ravensdale has pleaded not guilty to six charges including manslaughter and breach of duty.

Major Tony Tamburro is prosecuting the case.  "This is not an accident. When you take reasonable precautions and something goes wrong that's an accident. This is not an accident,” he said.

Two of the wounded soliders had been standing with Cpl. Baker when the land mine went off.  Both were seriously injured.

Master Bombardier Daniel Scott spent months in hospital to repair a hole in his chest.

"I just remember seeing the ground lift up….because there were pellets striking us from the ground," Master Bombadier Scott told the court.

Master Corporal William Pylypow was walking towards the light armored vehicle when a ball bearing went in through his bicep and exited out his tricep.

"My arm was pinned behind my tac vest. At the time I thought I lost my arm. I thought I was the only one hit. I began shouting medic, medic ... But by the fourth time I realized I wasn't the only one hit. I saw guys dropping," Master Corporal Pylypow testified.

Each witnesses called to the stand was asked by the prosecution, “What if any safety instruction were they given prior to beginning the exercise?” One soldier remembered Ravensdale saying "Stand behind the vehicles." Another testified he understood that to mean behind the line of lav's and not the actual armor.

Corporal Jaime Linn told the court, "I didn't feel like I was in danger. I was comfortable.  Nobody said anything to me so I felt good".

Major Tamburro said if you are running a range, you don't leave it up to the individual soldiers to decide where's safe and where's not.

“You tell hem where's safe and where's not and you make sure there are in places that are safe,” Tamburro told CTV News following the court proceedings.

Testimony is scheduled to continue tomorrow.  The prosecution will call its last witness.

This is the last of 3 courts martial in the training accident. ..... continues (briefly) at link

 

[old medic]

Deliberations underway in manslaughter court martial
Soldier accused of manslaughter in Afghanistan training accident
CBC News
13 Feb 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/02/13/mb-deliberations-court-martial-ravensdale-shilo.html

Five members of the Canadian military are deciding if one of their peers is guilty of manslaughter on a Manitoba military base.

Deliberations are underway in the court-martial of former Manitoba soldier Paul Ravensdale.

Ravensdale is facing six charges associated with a fatal mine explosion in Afghanistan, including manslaughter and negligence.

In 2010, an explosion killed Cpl. Joshua Baker and wounded four other officers.

Ravensdale was leading a test of anti-personnel mines on a weapons range when the accident happened.

A weapon misfired and sent steel balls flying into the platoon conducting the test.

Ravensdale was in charge of that exercise. It is alleged that he violated a number of safety procedures before the fatal explosion by letting other soldiers stand too close to the mine without being in a dugout or under cover.

A five-member panel of military personnel received their final instructions Wednesday from the military judge presiding over the case.

 

[old medic]

Soldier cleared of manslaughter in Afghanistan training accident

The Canadian Press
14 Feb 2013
copy at: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/soldier-cleared-of-manslaughter-in-afghanistan-training-accident-1.1157067

SHILO, Man. -- A retired Manitoba warrant officer has been found not guilty of manslaughter in a 2010 training accident in Afghanistan that killed a fellow soldier.

Paul Ravensdale has been convicted of four of the five other charges, the most serious being unlawfully causing bodily harm. The other convictions are on two counts of breach of duty and one count of negligent performance of military duty.

He was acquitted on a second charge of negligent performance of military duty.

Ravensdale was leading a test of anti-personnel mines in February 2010 when one misfired and sent hundreds of steel ball bearings in the wrong direction.

The ball bearings killed Cpl. Josh Baker and injured four others.

The prosecution had argued that Ravensdale ignored safety rules and allowed soldiers to stand too close to the mine, but the defence said Ravensdale was simply following plans approved by his superiors.

During Ravensdale's court martial in Shilo, Man., the military panel, which is akin to a jury in a civilian trial, was presented with two very different pictures of how he acted on the weapons range near Kandahar city three years ago.

Prosecutor Maj. Tony Tamburro painted him as a weapons expert who behaved recklessly by allowing soldiers to stand too close to the C-19 anti-personnel mines without being shielded or in a dugout.

The operating manual for the mines, as well as Canadian Forces training safety rules, require people to be 100 metres behind C-19s unless they are shielded. Video played at the court martial showed some soldiers much closer than that and with nothing protecting them.

Ravensdale also flouted rules that require soldiers to first train on inert weapons before attempting a live exercise, Tamburro said.

Ravensdale's lawyer, Maj. Philippe-Luc Boutin, said no one could have predicted the mine would act the way it did. He said the 100-metre limit is designed to protect people from minor injuries that might be caused by stones or other debris being kicked up by the blast.

Boutin also pointed to testimony from witnesses who said Ravensdale had told them to stay behind a row of light armoured vehicles.

The court martial heard some stood between vehicles or on top of them and Ravensdale gave the order to fire anyway.

Boutin laid blame on Ravensdale's superiors who approved of his plans for the training exercise and burdened him with being both the officer in charge of the test and the safety officer on the weapons range that day. Military rules require the two tasks be assigned to separate people.

Ravensdale did not testify at his court martial and his lawyer did not call any witnesses. In an interview with a military investigator days after the accident, Ravensdale said he had no idea what went wrong and that "all hell broke loose."

Two of Ravensdale's superiors have already been convicted in the accident.

Maj. Christopher Lunney was demoted to captain and given a severe reprimand after pleading guilty to negligent performance of duty.

Maj. Darryl Watts is awaiting sentencing on charges of negligence and unlawfully causing bodily harm.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Ravensdale's Lawyer is correct.  Ball bearings go forward in a 45 degree angle, not rearward.  I would really like to see the material presented to see the layout of the C19's in relation to where the troops were.

 

[FJAG]

Ravensdale's Lawyer is correct.  Ball bearings go forward in a 45 degree angle, not rearward.  I would really like to see the material presented to see the layout of the C19's in relation to where the troops were.

Not just you. This is a safety issue that everyone should be made aware of.

I would have presumed that if a technical explanation was available that the prosecution would have presented it but the reporting of this case has been of such poor quality that one can't really tell what if any explanation was offered.

One would assume that a technical inspection of the site would have been completed as part of the investigation.

Regardless of what actually caused the ball bearings to travel 'backwards', the RSO failed to ensure that the danger area was clear of unprotected personnel. Tragic failure in leadership at multiple levels.

It's unfortunate that when an event results in legal proceedings, we often keep the technical and safety aspects 'confidential' instead of disseminating them as lessons learned to help prevent further tragedies.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Is there any way we can compel them to publish the tech results?

 

[OldSolduer]

I have one question:


What were the Sgts and MCpls doing? Were they present? Or was it Cpls and below only?