Winnipeg Police Chief Devon Clunis speaks to the media at a news conference on Oct. 17, 2014.LYLE STAFFORD/The Globe and Mail
Winnipeg police have confirmed that the shift supervisor on duty when two officers had contact with Tina Fontaine is under internal investigation, but the city's top cop says the conduct probe is unrelated to the girl's high-profile homicide case.
Police Chief Devon Clunis also told reporters Friday that the separate internal investigation related to Tina's encounter with the two officers has concluded, and that the file will soon be forwarded to the Crown "for opinion." The two officers are under scrutiny because they had contact with the 15-year-old aboriginal girl on Aug. 8 and let her go – despite her being the subject of a missing-person report.
Mr. Clunis would not discuss whether the two officers could face criminal charges, saying that's up to the Crown.
"In a case like this, if we did not move that forward to get an outside look at it … we'd be scrutinized," he said. "We're taking every step to ensure there's transparency related to any decision. We leave that up to the Crown."
The news conference was called in response to a Winnipeg Free Press report published Thursday evening that said the shift supervisor is facing a sexual-harassment allegation. The supervisor maintains the relationship was consensual, according to the report, which said he and the female officer would allegedly sometimes leave work early, without authorization.
Mr. Clunis said there is no direct connection between the accused's conduct and Tina's case, adding that there is always a supervisor available to officers.
"I am concerned and deeply troubled with the linking of an internal human resources investigation with the tragic murder of a vulnerable young woman in our community," he said. "I'm here to assure the public that there is absolutely no link whatsoever between these investigations."
Joseph Favel, Tina's great uncle who raised the girl with his wife outside the city, said he agrees the sexual-harassment investigation is a separate matter – but only if it doesn't distract from the force's efforts to find Tina's killer.
"It's their business, as long as it doesn't interrupt the [homicide] investigation," he told The Globe and Mail after the news conference.
Mr. Clunis said he wouldn't normally make public comments about a "human resources" probe, but said he felt a duty to "correct some factual errors" – namely, it seemed, any insinuation that the supervisor's conduct is relevant to the Fontaine case.
The revelation about the allegations against the supervisor come at a time when the force is already under a microscope: The homicide investigation is ongoing exactly two months after Tina was pulled from the Red River on Aug. 17, and questions remain about the force's handling of her case.
Tina's family and members of the aboriginal community wonder whether the girl would be alive today had the two officers taken her into their custody when they had contact with her at a traffic stop on Aug. 8. The next day, she was reported missing for the last time.
"The Tina Fontaine homicide is a tragic event that has occurred here in our city, impacting the entire community and, I think, specifically the First Nations community," Mr. Clunis said, later adding: "[The negative press] weighs very heavily on the minds of our members who are out there on a daily basis, acting with the utmost professionalism and integrity."
The chief was originally expected to address the Fontaine investigation, but he ultimately made no comments about the murder other than to say the force is working "diligently" to solve the case.