WINNIPEG — The police officers who encountered Tina Fontaine shortly before she was murdered, but failed to get the teenage runaway off the streets, will not face charges. But one officer is suspended without pay pending possible discipline.
READ MORE: Tina Fontaine in car stopped by police just before she disappeared
In a news release emailed to media late Tuesday afternoon, police say the case was examined by Manitoba Justice Prosecutions and it was decided last December not to proceed with charges under either the Criminal Code or Child and Family Services Act.
But police also said Tuesday that one officer has been suspended without pay and the other remains on administrative leave while the police service decides if they should face internal discipline that could include being dismissed from the force.
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Fontaine, 15, was found wrapped in a plastic bag in the Red River in Winnipeg on August 17 2014, the victim of homicide. She had been reported missing from her foster home July 31, 2014. No arrests have been made in the girl’s murder.
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It was later revealed that two Winnipeg police officers had encountered Fontaine in a car during a traffic stop in downtown Winnipeg on August 8, about 24 hours before her final disappearance. Although the officers had identified Fontaine as a young missing person in need of protection, she wasn’t taken into custody and allowed to return to the streets.
Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis later said he learned of the situation in September and immediately launched an internal investigation into the officers’ actions.
“The Winnipeg Police Service has now commenced disciplinary proceedings against the members involved under the Winnipeg Police Service Regulations,” the police service said in the statement released to media Tuesday.
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“The Winnipeg Police Service Regulations allow for the suspension of a member pending the disposition of internal discipline. Given the serious nature of this matter one of the officers has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the discipline process, while the other remains on Administrative Leave, pending the outcome of the discipline process.”
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