The name, timeline and policing background of a former Yukon RCMP officer who became head of security for the Freedom Convoy matches that of a cop involved in the arrest of Raymond Silverfox before he died in police custody in 2008.
The death of Silverfox was widely publicized as it propelled a coroner’s inquest, a chair-initiated complaint to the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and a territory-wide review of policing in the Yukon.
In the chair’s final report, an RCMP officer identified as Cst. Daniel Bulford was found to have failed to fulfill some of his RCMP duties in the circumstances leading up to the death of Silverfox.
In the report’s findings, Bulford failed to obtain documentation from EMS certifying that Silverfox was fit for incarceration, failed to complete the section of the prisoner report dealing with EMS examination and failed to make detailed notes to that effect as required by policy. While Bulford adequately assessed Silverfox’s responsiveness at the time of booking and completed the associated section of the prisoner report as required, Bulford failed to comply with detachment policy requiring that intoxicated prisoners be asked to provide a breath sample prior to incarceration and information regarding Silverfox was not comprehensively communicated.
According to RCMP, Bulford worked for the Yukon division from 2007 until 2013. RCMP said Bulford retired from the force in December 2021. Police said Bulford was a corporal and his last substantive position was with the emergency response team at the national level.
Ten years after Bulford left the Yukon, a former police officer with the same name has gained notoriety as a freedom convoy organizer who left his job over the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for RCMP. Bulford was subpoenaed to testify at the public inquiry into the national emergency order.
RCMP won’t confirm if the Daniel Bulford involved in the convoy was the same Daniel Bulford involved in the Silverfox investigation, citing privacy reasons.
“Disclosure of personal information of employees involved in conduct matters is strictly regulated under Sec. 8(1) of the Privacy Act, which prohibits government institutions, including RCMP, from disclosing the personal information of their employees,” an RCMP spokesperson said by email.
In a Nov. 26, 2021 video, Bulford said he’s about to “lose” his job supporting the protection of the prime minister.
“As a Mountie, I always felt it was very important that I know what my legal authorities are and that police officers should know exactly what authority they have to do what they do,” he said.
Three months later, Bulford was arrested on Feb. 18, 2022, and released without charges, during the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa.
On Feb. 17, a five-volume commissioner’s report on the protest and resulting Emergency Act declaration noted his involvement.
In the report, Bulford is described as a former RCMP member who had worked as a sniper and observer on the National Division Emergency Response Team.
“Bulford left the force in December 2021 when his security clearance was revoked for speaking out against federal vaccine mandates,” commissioner Paul Rouleau wrote.
During testimony for the commission, Bulford outlined his experience graduating from the Depot Training Academy in January 2007 and being posted to Whitehorse as a general duty constable for “roughly” four years, plus a transfer to Mayo in 2010 for another two-and-a-half years. Then he was transferred to Ottawa for the remainder of his career.
The RCMP required all officers to become vaccinated in late 2021.
“I spoke out publicly against the federal government vaccination mandate for COVID-19 vaccines and after speaking out publicly, my security clearance was revoked and I knew that I would be subject to disciplinary action,” he testified.
“If I was terminated for misconduct, which I suspected would be the case, I could potentially lose roughly half of my pension transfer value, so I made the decision to resign out of fear that I would not be able to set my family up adequately financially in the future.”
During the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa, Bulford introduced himself as the main point of contact regarding volunteer security for the convoy, according to Rouleau’s report.
In an email on Jan. 27, 2022, Bulford invited several agencies to raise security concerns with him, including the Ottawa Police Service, the RCMP and Parliamentary Protective Services, which provides security services to the parliamentary precinct in the capital.
The News reached out to Bulford on Twitter offering a chance for him to comment but did not receive a reply by deadline.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com