Blood Tribe police chief Kyle Melting Tallow terminated from position

The Blood Tribe Police Commission confirms it has terminated the contract of Chief of Police Kyle Melting Tallow.

According to a media release attributed to Commission chair Dexter Bruised Head sent out on Monday, Melting Tallow was officially terminated on Aug. 4 “without cause” and “all terms were met respectfully by both parties.”

The media release does not state the reasons why the contract of Melting Tallow, who has served as Chief of Police of the Blood Tribe Police Department for the past four years, was ended.

“We want to take this moment to thank Kyle for his years of work with the Blood Tribe Police Service and wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” the statement from Bruised Head reads.

Melting Tallow grew up on the Siksika First Nation. His father was an officer in the Siksika Nation Police Service at that time, planting the seed for him to enter into policing himself one day, Melting Tallow told The Herald in an interview last year.

Melting Tallow started out as an officer in the same service after passing through the RCMP training academy in 1998, and served until that police service disbanded in 2002. He then went on to serve as a police officer with the Tsuut’nina Nation Police Service before arriving at the Blood Tribe Police Service in 2006. He rose through the ranks quickly, becoming acting chief of police in 2016 before being confirmed as chief of police in 2018.

The Herald reached out to Melting Tallow for comment, but had not heard back from him prior to press time on Monday.

The Blood Tribe Police Commission officially announced it would be appointing Sgt. Grant Buckskin as interim BTPS Chief of Police until a permanent replacement could be named. The release confirms Buckskin brings 30 years of policing experience to the interim role and is a member of the Blood Tribe.