TORONTO — Two Toronto police officers accused of not searching thoroughly enough for a young woman who went missing and was later found dead nearly seven years ago had their misconduct charges withdrawn Monday after the force said they had accepted responsibility for their actions.
Const. Michael Jones and Const. Alan McCullough will instead face discipline at the unit level in the case of Tess Richey as part of a restorative resolution, which will include being docked 40 hours of pay, a police disciplinary tribunal heard.
The constables have also agreed to help improve police training regarding missing persons by speaking to recruits about their experience and lessons learned from the case, the tribunal heard.
"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," Toronto police wrote in a statement.
The officers "have taken full responsibility for their actions" and the tribunal's decision "reflects a commitment to both accountability and continuous improvement at the service," the statement added.
Richey's own mother discovered her body days after she disappeared.
A lawyer representing McCullough told the hearing the resolution means there is no finding of misconduct in the case.
Lawrence Gridin said the incident occurred "as a result of systemic failures in the way that missing persons cases were handled in 2017," and the force has made significant improvements since then.
"Const. McCullough looks forward to being part of those positive changes, and he's looking forward to contributing to making the Toronto Police Service better for the benefit of all those who are missing and all those who care about them," the lawyer said.
A lawyer representing Jones said the case has been "a significant learning experience" for her client.
"There is not a day that goes by that he does not think of Tess Richey or the family," Joanne Mulcahy said.
Richey, 22, went missing in November 2017 after a night out with a friend in a neighbourhood known as Toronto's gay village.
Days later, her body was found in an outdoor stairwell metres from where she had last been seen. She was discovered by her mother, who had travelled to Toronto from North Bay, Ont., to conduct her own search.
Kalen Schlatter was found guilty of first-degree murder in Richey's death in 2020. The verdict means jurors believed beyond a reasonable doubt that Schlatter sexually assaulted Richey as part of the killing.
The conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
At sentencing, Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Dambrot said Schlatter's “appetite for violent sex” and his desire to experience it led him to strangle Richey hours after they met.
Schlatter later appealed his conviction, but the appeal was dismissed earlier this year.
A notice of hearing for Jones and McCullough, who were charged with insubordination and neglect of duty, alleges the officers were called on Nov. 26, 2017 to check an address related to Richey – referred to in the document as T.R. – who had been reported missing by a family member a day earlier.
They learned the location was where she had last been seen, the document alleges.
"You did not search the adjoining property or immediate area thoroughly. You did not conduct a canvass of the neighbours. You failed to notify a supervisory officer of all the particulars," it further alleges.
An independent review released in 2021 found that systemic discrimination contributed to “serious flaws” in a number of missing-persons investigations conducted by Toronto police in the preceding years.
One of the findings was that "basic investigative steps were overlooked or delayed" in many instances, and searches were at times “disorganized, incomplete or poorly documented.”
The review, led by former Appeal Court judge Gloria Epstein, examined the investigations involving Richey and Alloura Wells, a trans woman found dead in a ravine, as well as the eight men murdered by serial killer Bruce McArthur.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2024.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press