Two Toronto police officers accused of misconduct in connection with the 2017 murder of Tess Richey have had the charges against them withdrawn.
Constables Alan McCullough and Michael Jones briefly appeared before a police tribunal on Monday, where a hearing around their actions in November that year were to be discussed. They were charged in June 2018 under the Police Services Act with two counts each of misconduct and neglect of duty.
Monday’s hearing found no professional misconduct, and the charges against them were withdrawn due to alternative measures, including discipline at the unit level.
The officers agreed to accept responsibility, will contribute to police training in the area of missing persons and will have to speak to recruits about the lessons learned. The officers will also forfeit 40 hours of pay.
On Nov. 26, 2017, McCullough and Jones responded to a call at 3:45 p.m. in the area of Church and Wellesley streets in relation to Richey, who was reported as missing.
According to documents released in 2018, the officers did not search the adjoining property where the 22-year-old woman was last seen, did not canvass the neighbours, and failed to notify a supervisor of the details of their search efforts.
Richey’s body was later located by her mother on Nov. 29 in a stairwell outside an abandoned building.
Police had initially said her death was an accident but confirmed through an autopsy that she died by way of strangulation.
Richey’s death prompted police to launch a professional standards review to examine processes and procedures into how they handle missing persons cases.
A Toronto police spokesperson told Global News in an email Monday the tribunal decision “reflects a commitment to both accountability and continuous improvement at the Service.”
“This matter has been resolved through a restorative approach to discipline, administered at the unit level. The Service consulted with Tess Richey’s family throughout the process. Our deepest sympathies remain with Tess Richey and her family, who endured an unimaginable loss,” they said.
Kalen Schlatter, who investigators said met Richey in the early morning hours of Nov. 25, 2017, was arrested on Feb. 4, 2018 and charged with first-degree murder. He was later convicted of that charge and sentenced to life in prison.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Dambrot alluded to evidence of Schlatter’s sexual interest in choking that was kept from the jurors when he handed down his sentence in 2020.
“It is true that you are young, but your sexual appetite led you literally to take an innocent young woman by the hand down a path to her death,” he said.
“To satisfy your lust, you took her life… you stole a large piece of the fabric of the very being of the members of her family and friends and, I could not fail to observe, you shed no tear for their losses.”
— with files from The Canadian Press