Canadian soldier acquitted of manslaughter in accident; guilty on some counts

CALGARY – A Canadian reservist has been found not guilty of manslaughter in an Afghanistan training accident that killed a soldier and injured four others.

A military jury at a court martial in Calgary also acquitted Maj. Darryl Watts of breach of duty.

But the five jurors convicted him of unlawfully causing bodily harm and negligent performance of military duty.

Cpl. Josh Baker died when a Claymore anti-personnel mine peppered the platoon on a practice range near Kandahar city in February 2010.

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

The defence countered that Watts had no training on the C19, so handed over responsibility for safety to his second-in-command, who was an expert on the weapon.