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

Prosecutors have stayed manslaughter charges against two Prince George RCMP officers 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 believed.

Prosecutor Joseph Saulnier 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 Culver'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.

Saulnier said Pollanen concluded Culver died of cardiac arrest brought on by sustained use of methamphetamines and while the struggle with police "contributed to or exacerbated his conditions" the new findings doomed the case against Ste-Marie and Monette.

"Obviously Dale Culver did not deserve to die, should not have died that day," Saulnier told Judge Paul Dohm. "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.

A photo of Dale Culver, who was 35 when he died in police custody in 2017, was displayed outside the Prince George courthouse. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)

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

Culver was in the area, riding a BMX bike without a helmet. A chase and fight ensured 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 arrived, Const. Monette, who kicked or kneed him in the head or upper body," according to the statement.

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"When paramedics arrived, Mr. Culver was initially responsive. He stood up outside the vehicle, but then collapsed and died 29 minutes after the conclusion of his interaction with the police, which was approximately three minutes."

Ste-Marie and Monette were among five police officers charged in connection with Culver's death. Three RCMP officers — Const. Arthur Dalman, Sgt. Bayani [Jon] Eusebio 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.

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

The judge addressed the gallery — pointing to the need to ensure that "innocent people are not wrongfully convicted of a crime."

"Mr. Culver died in very sad and tragic services. Understandably, there is a desire in some to want someone to be held accountable for this loss," he said. "But Crown can only attempt to do that when there is sufficient compelling and reliable evidence to support criminal prosecution."

Roughly 100 supporters, friends and family members stood outside the Prince George courthouse for a rally held the morning of April 5, 2024. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)

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 daughters and their mothers and their cousins."

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

"To call our system a justice system is not true," she said. "The fact is, whether or not my dad had a heart condition ... what caused the heart attack was those RCMP officers, and I stand by that statement."

Pierre said she was disappointed that it had taken seven years to get to this point.

"We need to start looking at the justice system right now," she said, adding her family plans to pursue an independent inquiry into what happened to Culver.

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

Culver's family members stand silent as a drum group played before the court hearing. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)

Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs president Grand Chief Stewart Phillip issued a statement following the Crown's announcement calling on B.C. to live up to its commitment 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 tensions boil over," Phillip said.

"Officers must be held accountable for each and every death of an Indigenous person at the hands of police. We are not dispensable. This has to stop."