GIST: "Prosecutors have stayed manslaughter charges against two B.C. 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.
His death and its aftermath 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 Association (BCCLA) saying it believes 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 Ste-Marie and Monette.Lily Speed-Namox was 14 when her father Dale Culver, a 35-year-old Gixsan and Wet'suwet'en man, died in police custody in 2017 after being arrested by RCMP. She spoke outside the Prince George, B.C. courthouse after it was announced manslaughter charges against two Mounties are being stayed. That means the trial will be paused and if not resumed within a year, it will be treated as if it never started.
Saulnier said Pollanen's report concluded Culver died of cardiac arrest brought on by sustained use of methamphetamines 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 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.
Culver punched in head by police, finds report
BCCLA policy counsel Meghan McDermott called Friday's news "disgusting."
"We are used to being disappointed by public systems of accountability but this one is just [exceptional]," she said in an interview with CBC News, adding she was disappointed the Crown had not opted to try and pursue a lesser charge against the officers.
"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 front-line Mounties, posted a statement on social media focusing on the impact the charges had on the accused. "There have been 2,453 sleepless nights these members have had to endure.
"These members still have a shadow cast over their career and personal life indefinitely," he wrote. "The journey to reclaiming their name and rebuilding shattered trust is a herculean task ... Exoneration comes too late in the biased and relentless court of public opinion."
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 ensued 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.
"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.
Tears and outrage in courtroom
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."
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 entire story can be read at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dale-culver-court-case-rcmp-mansalughter-1.7165319
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: (RELEASE): “We have a system that says if you have a gun and a badge, you can kill any Indigenous person in any town in B.C. and not go to jail,” said Raven Culver, sister to Dale. “Our family has endured seven years of delays, waiting for the day Dale’s killers would be held accountable. Today our worst fears were confirmed. There is no justice.” Since Dale Culver’s death there have been 379 police-related deaths in British Columbia. Until Friday, Culver’s case was the first time officers faced charges of manslaughter in the death of an Indigenous man in the province."
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RELEASE: (A very moving document which speaks for itself. HL); From Dale Culver's family and aboriginal leaders, headed: “There is no justice”: family of Dale Culver appalled as Crown drops charges against RCMP officers responsible for his death."
GIST: Grieving relatives of a Wet’suwet’en man killed by RCMP officers are warning other families after constables Paul Sainte-Marie and Jean-Francois Monette walked free on Friday. Crown prosecutors announced a stay of charges, ending the prosecution of the two officers in Dale Culver’s death.
“We have a system that says if you have a gun and a badge, you can kill any Indigenous person in any town in B.C. and not go to jail,” said Raven Culver, sister to Dale. “Our family has endured seven years of delays, waiting for the day Dale’s killers would be held accountable. Today our worst fears were confirmed. There is no justice.”
Since Dale Culver’s death there have been 379 police-related deaths in British Columbia. Until Friday, Culver’s case was the first time officers faced charges of manslaughter in the death of an Indigenous man in the province.
“Not only are these men still in uniform, they’re still assaulting our community members,” said Debbie Pierre, Dale’s sister. Cst. Paul Sainte-Marie faces a separate charge of assault related to an arrest in August 2022. “Something is rotten in Prince George. Something is deeply wrong with the so-called justice system in this city.”
“These are the officers the RCMP pulls from when they recruit volunteers to conduct raids on Wet’suwet’en territory,” said Na’moks, head chief of the Tsayu (Beaver) clan. “They are trained to see us as less than human, and that is reinforced every time the RCMP kills one of our people and gets away with it.”
Since 2019 the RCMP’s Critical Response Unit has conducted three major raids on Wet’suwet’en land defenders. Audio captured during one operation revealed officers calling Indigenous people ‘orcs ’and ‘ogres ’and laughing about sexually assaulting an arrestee. The B.C. government has increased the unit’s budget despite ongoing lawsuits and a systemic review by the RCMP’s civilian watchdog.
“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,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. “The law must be updated in line with B.C.’s international human rights commitments under UNDRIP. And 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.”
The Office of the Wet’suwet’en added: “As Wet’suwet’en we share one heart and one soul, our laws and traditions speak with one voice!”
The entire release from can be read from Debbie Pierre, sister to Dale Culver, Na’moks, head chief of Wet’suwet’en Tsayu Clan, and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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MORE VALUABLE WORDS: "As a former public defender, Texas' refusal to delay Ivan Cantu's execution to evaluate new evidence is deeply worrying for the state of our legal system. There should be no room for doubt in a death penalty case. The facts surrounding Cantu's execution should haunt all of us."
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett; X March 1, 2024.
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