HALIFAX — The Canadian Forces is investigating whether firearms were misused based on videos entered as evidence at the recent court martial of a soldier convicted of accidentally shooting his tentmate in Afghanistan.
Col. Tom Stinson, commander of 36 Brigade Group, will do the investigation in the aftermath of Matthew Wilcox’s conviction in the death of Cpl. Kevin Megeney of Stellarton, N.S.
Stinson is the commander of all reservists in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Wilcox, 24, of Glace Bay, N.S., was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this week.
His defence team first disclosed the videos during his court martial on July 9.
In one clip, taped in 2006 while reservists were on exercises at CFB Wainwright in Alberta, a friend of Megeney’s is shown holding a pistol to the head of his section commander.
Several soldiers can be heard laughing in the background as the weapon is pointed.
A second video shows the soldier putting together a 9-millimetre pistol, pointing it at the camera and pulling the trigger.
Wilcox was convicted in July of criminal negligence causing death and neglect of duty.
On Wednesday, the military judge who heard the case, Cmdr. Peter Lamont, also dismissed Wilcox, who was a corporal, from the military.
The judge said Wilcox’s “critical carelessness” was part of a pattern of negligence that began with his failure to unload his firearm after he finished his shift guarding the main gate at the Kandahar Airfield on March 6, 2007.
When he took the stand in his own defence earlier this year, Wilcox testified he fired his 9-millimetre pistol in self defence, believing somebody was cocking a gun at his back when he turned and fired without looking.
Lamont said he believed evidence from soldiers who testified that Wilcox had told them he was playing a game of quick draw with Megeney when his gun went off.
