Case details of officer killed in crash to remain a mystery

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This article was published 02/11/2016 (3275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba justice officials have officially closed their high-profile criminal case against a Winnipeg police officer who died in a mysterious head-on crash last month.

Court records show that 24 provincial charges against Trent Milan have now been stayed — including breach of trust, attempting to obstruct justice, theft and possession of prohibited weapons including ammunition, three knives, bear spray, an eight ball and brass knuckles. They are for offences which allegedly occurred between 2010 and 2016.

An additional 12 federal drug charges remain before the courts but are expected to also be dropped on Nov. 10, which is when Milan was set to first appear on them. Court documents show they involve allegations Milan was in possession of cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, oxycodone and marijuana during a raid on his Oakbank-area home in September. The charges include allegations of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Milan’s sudden death means the usual fact-finding exercise of a criminal prosecution won’t occur, likely resulting in much of the details surrounding these charges never being made public. 

Winnipeg police previously described Milan’s arrest as a “dark chapter” in their history. The 18-year veteran of the force was on administrative leave but still free in the community on promises to appear in court when his pickup truck slammed head on into the front of a gravel truck on Oct. 3.

In an interview following the deadly crash, the gravel truck driver told the Free Press he had no time to react as Milan appeared to deliberately veer into his path. He suffered minor physical injuries but extreme emotional trauma.

“Why did he pick me?” asked Rob Morgan.

RCMP have not publicly stated Milan’s death was a suicide.

Police say the investigation into Milan centered around evidence that had gone missing over a number of years, including the weapons found in his possession. One key item was a pricey necklace that belonged to a man who’d been arrested and had it seized for processing. Milan was involved in the street crime unit during much of the time span covered by the charges.

The breach-of-trust charge alleged he was “benefiting personally by his police-related duties,” while another charge alleged Milan gave confidential police information to somebody outside the service to “attempt to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

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