An Ottawa detective in a disciplinary hearing for investigating a possible link between COVID-19 vaccination and sudden infant mortality, is allegedly getting more help from the public than her union to defend herself.
Detective Helen Grus was suspended at the end of January 2022 for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. She charged with “discreditable conduct” on July 26, 2022 for investigating the possible connection of sudden infant deaths to their mothers being vaccinated for COVID-19.
Grus presented the file of her investigation to Professional Standards investigator Sgt. Jason Arbuthnot on May 12, 2022. Prior to the disciplinary hearings, Arbuthnot interrogated Grus on video to ask why she was investigating.
“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,” she explained.
“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.”
Donald Best, a retired Toronto investigator who has taken a special interest in Grus’ case. In an interview with the Western Standard, Best said the case is a “big one” to show the world whether Canada has fallen to the standard of corrupt regimes by having political agendas affect investigations.
“This case is so important, and nobody gets that critical factor. She shouldn't have been charged. I think they're embarrassed that she is charged. But they're doubling down because they must win,” he said.
“The whole institution circled around itself to protect itself against one person who has integrity.”
Best believes Grus was just doing her job, and says some of her colleagues think the same.
“I've had so many police officers in Ottawa, reaching out to me, some anonymously, some who just didn’t want me to mention their names, some at very senior levels, [saying], ‘It's embarrassing. They shouldn't have charged her. She's being railroaded.’ Did you know that they wiretapped her illegally during the convoy?”
Best has written on the Grus case in a series of posts on his website DonaldBest.ca. In his most recent post, he published an email exchange with Ottawa Police Association President Matthew Cox where he asked why the OPA was not funding Grus’ defense.
Cox alleged Best’s inquiry was “rife with inaccuracies” and replied, “We adhere to fair and transparent business practices, and ensure that all our members are treated equally.”
Ten days of hearings on Grus were held in August, October, and November, but Best said he only saw one union rep in attendance for a few hours on a single day.
A GiveSendGo campaign for Grus aims for $150,000 but has received $47,249.
Best did an informal poll of 37 Ottawa police officers and did not find one was aware the union did not fund Grus. Some also alleged a “secretive process” that results in the association covering the legal fees of some but not others.
Several officers informed Best that the OPA paid at least some of Constable Eric Post’s legal expenses. He was charged in 2018 with 32 criminal offenses against women including sexual assault, forceable confinement, threatening, and pointing a firearm. After a plea deal, he finally pled guilty to five criminal charges involving violence against women.
Unlike their counterparts in Toronto, the Ottawa Police Association did not oppose a vaccine mandate. Grus wrote her colleagues in September 2021 saying, “Prior to submitting any further disclosure about my informed medical decisions in relation to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, I wish to have OPS or designate answer” her questions regarding what evidence backed such a mandate.
Trial officer Chris Renwick, a former Ottawa police superintendent, has denied Grus’ defense team access to one of her duty books. He also refused to delay proceedings pending a judicial review in Ontario’s superior court over whether access should be given. Grus’ defence lawyers have also been denied access to related autopsy reports, electronic communications between poolice member witnesses and some related investigation notes.
Renwick also did not allow the defense to submit the notice of a 36-hour wiretap of Grus and her family between February 18-19, 2022, shortly before the convoy was ended February 23. He also told the defense the hearing “cannot and will not be a venue for opinions and theories that link vaccines to child deaths.”
