'Not our best work': RCMP apologize to family of murder victim Amber Tuccaro
Initial efforts to find Amber Tuccaro were "not our best work," the Alberta RCMP's commanding officer said Thursday in issuing a public apology to Tuccaro's family.
Tuccaro, 20, disappeared soon after arriving in Edmonton from Fort McMurray with her infant son in August 2010. Two years later her remains were discovered in a farmer's field in Leduc County. Her murder remains unsolved.
"I fully acknowledge that the early days of our investigation into Amber's disappearance required a better sense of urgency and care," Alberta RCMP Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki said at K-Division headquarters in Edmonton.
"We agree with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission that in 2010, the Leduc Detachment's initial missing person's investigation was not our best work and was not in line with our established policies.
"At the beginning of this investigation the RCMP was not the police service we strive to be.
"On behalf of the RCMP, I am truly sorry."
Police work 'deficient'
An independent federal review of the Leduc RCMP's investigation into the 20-year-old Mikisew Cree Nation woman's disappearance found that police work in the case was "deficient."
Tuccaro was reported missing to the Leduc detachment in August 2010.
She was last seen in Nisku on Aug. 18, 2010, a day after flying into Edmonton from Fort McMurray.
In March 2014, her mother, Vivian Tuccaro, filed a complaint against the Leduc RCMP with the chair of the Commission for Public Complaints.
The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission reviewed the case and issued recommendations.
In his apology, Zablocki said that while the past can't be changed, it's important to learn from it to move forward.
"I can tell you with confidence that the RCMP is listening and learning from families such as yourselves," Zablocki said. "This includes building trust with family members by providing timely communication and requiring more oversight and accountability from senior management teams."
The RCMP is committed to addressing the complaints commission's report, he said. Some have already been implemented, Zablocki added.
"The RCMP continues to implement the recommendations that were accepted by the commissioner in 2018."
'We want ... real change'
The Tuccaro family released a statement Monday calling on the RCMP to follow through on the report's recommendation to apologize to her family.
"That said, an apology only goes so far – we want to see redress for our family and real change from the RCMP so other families don't face the same tragedy we face," Amber Tuccaro's mother, Vivian Tuccaro said in the statement. "We know the RCMP is now working to bring Amber's murderer to justice and we ask for the public's help."
The family shared a portion of the RCMP civilian complaint commission's 120-page report in September 2018, which included a recommendation that the police force publicly apologize for the mistakes made and the "inadequate investigation undertaken overall by the Leduc detachment."
The review was undertaken after the family filed a complaint with the commission in 2014. The portion of the final report, dated Aug. 27, 2018, found that the officers involved in the case either weren't trained properly or did not adhere to training, policies and guidelines that should be followed in a missing person's case.
Issues identified by the commission include the decision to remove Amber Tuccaro's name from a missing person's list soon after she vanished.
It took four months for RCMP to interview Vivian Tuccaro about the disappearance of her daughter, which the commission found was "unreasonable and unexplained."
