Manslaughter charges stayed against RCMP officers accused in death of Indigenous man

Prosecutors have stayed manslaughter charges against two B.C. RCMP offi‐ cers in the 2017 death of an Indigenous man after a pathologist determined Dale Culver died of a heart attack, not blunt force trauma as was initially be‐ lieved.

Prosecutor Joseph Saulni‐ er told a provincial court judge in the Prince George courthouse Friday the Crown decided to end proceedings against Const. Paul Ste-Marie and Const. Jean Francois Monette after asking Ontario chief forensic pathologist Michael Pollanen to review the conclusions of the first pathologist to examine Cul‐ ver's death.

The 35-year-old Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en man died in police custody on July 18, 2017, after being arrested and struggling with police.

His death and its after‐ math have been viewed by civil rights advocates and First Nations leadership groups as a key test of the B.C. justice system's ability to hold police accountable, with the B.C. Civil Liberties Associ‐ ation (BCCLA) saying it be‐ lieves it is the first time law enforcement in the province had been charged in the death of an Indigenous man.

But new findings shared by Crown counsel Friday doomed the case against SteMarie and Monette.

WATCH | Lily SpeedNamox speaks about her fa‐ ther's death:

Saulnier said Pollanen's report concluded Culver died of cardiac arrest brought on by sustained use of metham‐ phetamines and the struggle with police "contributed to or exacerbated his conditions."

"Obviously Dale Culver did not deserve to die, should not have died that day," Saulnier told Judge Paul Do‐ hm. "However, in light of the new evidence there is no basis to find these accused legally culpable for his death."

A stay of proceedings puts a trial on pause and, if it is not resumed within a year, it is treated as if it never started under B.C. law.

Culver punched in head by police, finds report

BCCLA policy counsel Meghan McDermott called Friday's news "disgusting."

"We are used to being dis‐ appointed by public systems of accountability but this one is just [exceptional]," she said in an interview with CBC News, adding she was disap‐ pointed the Crown had not opted to try and pursue a lesser charge against the offi‐ cers.

"We cannot call what we have a justice system if this is what we get out of it."

Meanwhile, Chris Voller, one of the directors of the National Police Federation, the union representing frontline Mounties, posted a state‐ ment on social media focus‐ ing on the impact the charges had on the accused. "There have been 2,453 sleepless nights these mem‐ bers have had to endure.

"These members still have a shadow cast over their ca‐ reer and personal life indefi‐ nitely," he wrote. "The journey to reclaiming their name and rebuilding shat‐ tered trust is a herculean task ... Exoneration comes too late in the biased and re‐ lentless court of public opin‐ ion."

According to a statement issued Friday by the B.C. Prosecution Service, Culver was arrested in downtown Prince George after police re‐ sponded to a call about a suspicious man on foot look‐ ing into cars.

Culver was in the area, riding a BMX bike without a helmet. A chase and fight en‐ sued after he refused to stop for a police officer, resulting in a call for assistance from all other officers in the area.

"Const. Ste-Marie was the first to arrive. He … punched Mr. Culver at least once in the head. The next officer ar‐ rived, Const. Monette, who kicked or kneed him in the head or upper body," ac‐ cording to the statement.

"When paramedics ar‐ rived, Mr. Culver was initially responsive. He stood up out‐ side the vehicle, but then col‐ lapsed and died 29 minutes after the conclusion of his in‐ teraction with the police, which was approximately three minutes."

Ste-Marie and Monette were among five police offi‐ cers charged in connection with Culver's death. Three RCMP officers - Const. Arthur Dalman, Sgt. Bayani [Jon] Eu‐ sebio Cruz and Const. Clarence [Alex] Alexander MacDonald - have pleaded not guilty to obstruction of justice related to allegations efforts were made to delete witness video of the incident.

Tears and outrage in courtroom

The stay of proceedings was received with tears and outrage from roughly 60 family members and sup‐ porters who were in the courtroom to hear the case Friday, including Culver's daughter, cousins and an aunt who had raised him.

WATCH | Details and re‐ action to charges being stayed:

The judge addressed the gallery, pointing to the need to ensure that "innocent peo‐ ple are not wrongfully con‐ victed of a crime."

"Mr. Culver died in very sad and tragic services. Un‐ derstandably, there is a de‐ sire in some to want some‐ one to be held accountable for this loss," he said. "But Crown can only attempt to do that when there is suffi‐ cient compelling and reliable evidence to support criminal prosecution."

Culver's daughter Lily Speed-Namox, who was 14 when he died, stood up as court was adjourned, saying "it must be nice" for lawyers and RCMP officers to go home every day "and see their sons and their daugh‐ ters and their mothers and their cousins."

Outside, she spoke to re‐ porters alongside Wet'‐ suwet'en hereditary chief Namoks and Culver's cousin, Debbie Pierre, who was raised alongside him.

"To call our system a jus‐ tice system is not true," she said.

"The fact is, whether or not my dad had a heart con‐ dition ... what caused the heart attack was those RCMP officers, and I stand by that statement."

Speed-Namox said she is now pinning her hopes on the obstruction of justice cases. Dates for those hear‐ ings have not been set.

Calls for reform

Defense lawyer David Butcher said it was unfair to both the accused officers and Culver's family that it took so long to get to this point.

"These two police officers have had this hanging over their heads for seven years now, and the family have had questions and uncertainty for that long," he said in the court room. "These things have to be done better and they have to be done better, because everybody suffers."

Pierre, Culver's cousin, al‐ so expressed her frustration with how long it had taken only for the case to end with‐ out a trial.

"We need to start looking at the justice system right now," she said, adding her family plans to pursue an in‐ dependent inquiry into what

happened to Culver.

In his written statement, Vuller also noted the length of time the investigation and court case had taken, saying "such prolonged processes not only delay justice, like the exoneration of these mem‐ bers, but also subject them to prolonged stress and un‐ certainty."

Earlier in the week, the BCCLA had issued a public news release pushing for the case against RCMP to be moved forward, noting it had been nearly seven years since he died.

The organization con‐ tended the delays were an il‐ lustration of how slowly the justice system can move for people who believe their family has been harmed by law enforcement, noting they had documented 379 policerelated deaths in B.C. since Culver, with only a handful of charges laid.

McDermott said there had been some optimism that public bodies were taking the cases more seriously in the wake of racial justice move‐ ments in both Canada and the United States, but she felt that Friday's decision was the "same old, same old," and would have a ripple ef‐ fect on other individuals hoping for justice.

"This is just a really bad omen for all of us about the state of our accountability processes," she said.

Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs president Grand Chief Stewart Phillip issued a state‐ ment following the Crown's announcement calling on B.C. to live up to its commit‐ ment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

"We are deeply outraged that manslaughter charges against these publicly paid RCMP officers who killed

Dale Culver have been dropped. Now is the time for major changes to B.C.'s Police Act, before these racial ten‐ sions boil over," Phillip said.

"Officers must be held ac‐ countable for each and every death of an Indigenous per‐ son at the hands of police. We are not dispensable. This has to stop."