ASIRT determines Cochrane RCMP officers acted accordingly

It has been determined that two Cochrane RCMP officers acted accordingly while investigating a case involving the killing of a six-month infant girl by her father in Morley on Aug. 25, 2021.

A series of events led up to the officers conducting a welfare check on a six-month-old infant, Her body was discovered wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a suitcase in the basement.

The father, Tyriq Lyman Kootenay, 21, was charged with second-degree murder on Sept. 1, 2021, as well as assault causing bodily harm and choking with intent to injure a 24-year-old female victim from a prior incident

Late this September, Kootenay was sentenced to 9 1/2 years on a lesser charge of manslaughter He had about six and a half years remaining on his sentence after taking into account time already served. 

The 10-page report of ASIRT assistant executive director Matthew Black released today (Oct. 27) provided a detailed account from several witnesses. All relevant radio communications and video from the two involved RCMP vehicles were also analyzed. 

On Aug. 23, 2021, two nights prior, a caller contacted the RCMP to report a bloody and intoxicated female was trying to hitchhike on Hwy. 1A. The woman told the police she was attempting to get away from her abusive partner and expressed concern about her children's safety.

The information was considered limited and confusing, but the RCMP did visit the home. No one answered and they believed they did not have reasonable grounds to enter the premises.

"To their credit, the subject officers conducted a safety check on the residence to look for the children," states the ASIRT report. "They exhausted the legal means available to them but were unable to locate anyone. They considered warrantless entry to the residence and correctly determined that they lacked the grounds to enter."

Two days later, the mother called again, expressing her concerns. It was then that the RCMP entered the home on a welfare check and discovered the child's body. 

"The subject officers acted properly and there are no reasonable grounds to believe they committed an offence," the report concludes. "The death of [the infant] is not on their hands; it is on [Tyriq Lyman Kooteney's] hands." 

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