Report says Sask. police officers failed during domestic violence response hours before infant's death
CBC
Police officers in Prince Albert, Sask., failed to conduct a proper investigation into a domestic violence situation that involved a vulnerable and unprotected baby, and the baby was found dead hours later, according to a newly released independent report by Saskatchewan's Public Complaints Commission (PCC).
The report, which examines what happened in the hours leading up to 13-month-old Tanner Brass's death, details the officers' neglect of duty.
The commission's findings, released Thursday, rely on evidence from the responding officers, in-car video recordings, audio recording of a 911 call, dispatch records, cellphone records, CCTV recordings, autopsy reports, policy documents and other elements.
The Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) requested an investigation because of concerns that officers' actions — or inaction — resulted in the death.
Tanner was found dead in his home in February 2022, about five hours after police officers were dispatched to that home in response to a domestic dispute.
The PCC created a timeline of what transpired in the hours before Tanner's death.
It says that Tanner's mother, Kyla Frenchman, was assaulted by Kaij Brass, the baby's father, during an argument on the evening of Feb. 9, 2022, according to investigators.
Frenchman left the home, returning around 4:30 a.m. CST. Frenchman later told investigators that Kaij appeared intoxicated and had blood on him.
Frenchman called 911 at 5:44 a.m. CST using a neighbour's phone. She told the operator that Kaij was intoxicated and had assaulted her when she tried to get her baby and belongings.
She said the baby was in the home with Kaij, and became emotional when the operator asked if she was concerned Kaij would hurt the baby. Frenchman said "he already does" and that he, "hits him ... he hits him when he puts him to bed."
Frenchman previously told CBC that before Tanner died, he was a happy little boy who loved watching Blue's Clues, dancing and taking baths.
Two police officers were sent to the home with the information that Kaij had assaulted Frenchman and that she feared for her baby's safety. Frenchman met them outside the home.
The officers were outside the home for 13 minutes. Neither officer attempted to check on the well-being of the baby. Both claim that Frenchman did not mention any concerns about the child's safety at the scene.
It's not clear if they asked about the child's safety, even though they knew about the concerns raised during the 911 call, according to the report. They did not enter the home.
The Rachel Notley government's consumer carbon tax wound up becoming a weapon the UCP wielded to drum the Alberta NDP out of office. But that levy-and-repayment program, and the wide-ranging "climate leadership plan" around it, also stood as the NDP's boldest, provincial-reputation-altering move in their single-term tenure.