Alberta police watchdog clears RCMP officers of negligence after child killed

Alberta's police watchdog says two RCMP officers were not negligent when investigating a case where an infant was killed by her father in 2021.

Tyriq Kootenay entered a guilty plea to manslaughter earlier this year after admitting he killed his infant daughter following a fight with his girlfriend and another friend at a home in Morley, on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, west of Calgary.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) says police were called after finding the little girl's mother intoxicated and bloody, attempting to hitchhike on a nearby highway. She told them she was trying to get away from her abusive partner and expressed concern about her children's safety.

RCMP officers visited the home, but nobody answered, and they felt they did not have probable cause to break into the house.

After the mother again expressed her concerns two days later, RCMP forced their way in and found the little girl's body wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a suitcase in the basement.

ASIRT says the officers did not have the authority to enter the home and the blame falls solely on Kootenay.

The agency investigates serious allegations of police misconduct and when death or serious injury may have been caused by police.