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The man accused of killing a six-year-old boy while driving impaired in St. John’s last month was involved in a separate crash two days earlier, CBC News has learned, but police officers on scene didn’t run a check on his information.
Had they looked, they would have noticed 32-year-old Tyler Day had an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
Day was driving a work truck when he collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Stamp’s Lane and Terra Nova Road on July 21. The other vehicle sustained major damage, but there were no serious injuries.
The RNC says it didn’t run a check on Day because the crash was considered “non-criminal.”
“Police interactions are guided by the nature of the call for service,” reads a statement from RNC Const. Stephanie Myers.
“In this case, there was no information that required officers to conduct criminal record checks; the non-criminal matter was addressed and the file was concluded.”
Police noticed the warrant two days later, when Day is alleged to have struck six-year-old Zafeer Munir at the intersection of Thorburn Road and Larkhall Street.
Six-year-old Zafeer Munir died in hospital days after being struck near the intersection of Thorburn Road and Larkhall Street on the evening of July 23. (Submitted by Munir family)
Police said Day fled the scene, but was followed by an eyewitness. He was arrested nearby on Cumberland Crescent. He was charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm. The boy later died, resulting in the charges being upgraded to impaired driving causing death.
He is also charged with dangerous driving causing death, criminal negligence causing death, and failing to remain at the scene of an accident causing death.
Day likely would have been released, says former officer
The initial warrant for Day’s arrest was issued in January 2025 for allegedly breaching conditions of a court order in Corner Brook, where he was facing a charge of fraud under $5,000.
If the RNC had acted on the warrant on July 21, criminologist and former police officer Michael Arntfield said it’s likely he still would have been released prior to the July 23 incident.
“Ultimately, we’ll never know if the outcome could have been any different if his name or vehicle information had been properly queried and he was arrested on that warrant,” Arntfield said. “He may very well have been out on bail that day or the next day, and still out on the road on the 23rd.”
Criminologist Michael Arntfield spent 15 years as a police officer in London, Ont. He now teaches at the University of Western Ontario. (CBC)
Still, Arntfield was puzzled to learn police didn’t run a check on Day’s information at the scene of the first incident.
“I find this very surprising, from not only a service delivery perspective but an officer safety perspective,” he said. “Every police interaction is potentially criminal. That’s just the nature of the job. What begins as one thing may turn out to be something else.”
Arntfield said it was standard practice throughout his 15-year policing career in London, Ont., to run people’s information through the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) at the start of each interaction.
“What if he was criminally prohibited, disqualified by a judge from driving, due to a previous conviction of impaired driving? That’s an arrestable offence on the spot,” Arntfield said. “The only way the officer is going to know that and know to take action is if he queries the name.”
Day was wanted on an endorsed warrant — meaning the RNC officers on scene would have had discretion as to whether or not they took him into custody, or released him on a promise to appear in court at a later date. On one hand, Arntfield said, the warrant was for a minor offence. On the other hand, he’d been wanted by police for more than a year.
Regardless of whether or not he was taken into custody on July 21, Arntfield said it’s almost guaranteed he would have been released before the fatal incident two days later.
“It’s just a series of cascading events that ended in tragedy, unfortunately,” he said.
Day, who remains in custody, is due in court on Sept. 8 for a status update. The court has heard he is working on a release plan and intends to seek bail.
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