The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) says manslaughter charges against two Prince George RCMP officers are being dropped, nearly seven years after the death of an Indigenous man in custody.
In an update Friday, the BCPS says there is “no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction” against the two Mounties who were involved in the arrest of Dale Culver in 2017.
In February 2023, Const. Paul Ste-Marie and Const. Jean Francois Monette were charged with the manslaughter of Culver after the Independent Investigations Office of BC found there were reasonable grounds to believe the officers may have committed offences. Three other RCMP officers were charged with obstruction of justice.
Thirty-five-year-old Culver was a member of the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en Nations.
“During preparation for the preliminary inquiry ad hoc Crown Counsel was unable to resolve questions about the evidence of cause of death with the pathologist. A decision was made to seek an independent opinion from another pathologist,” the BCPS said Friday.
“The reviewing pathologist found the cause of death to be acute and chronic adverse effects of methamphetamine following a struggle. The mechanism of death was sudden cardiac (arrhythmic) death.”
The BCPS cites the secondary pathology report “did not confirm the findings of the original pathologist.”
“The pathologist opined that Mr. Culver died from ‘abundant fibrin microthrombi [very small blood clots] throughout the pulmonary vasculature, etiology (cause) unknown.’”
The secondary pathologist was also unable to confirm that Culver had sustained a “mild traumatic brain injury,” the BCPS shared, and instead found an “injury to his scalp, but not a brain injury.”
The second pathologist explained, “An Australian study of methamphetamine-related deaths found that contemporaneous strenuous activity occurred in 12.9% of cases. Mr. Culver’s struggle with the police can be characterized as strenuous activity. Therefore, on a medical basis, the struggle with the police likely exacerbated the physiological effects of the acute and chronic adverse effects of methamphetamine.”
According to a notice from the IIO in 2017, police received reports that a man was “casing vehicles” in a part of Prince George.
“Officers located the male and attempted to take him into custody. Police say a struggle ensued and they used OC (pepper) spray in the process of apprehending the male who was then placed in a police vehicle,” the IIO report stated.
It noted the man “appeared to be having trouble breathing,” at which point police requested medical assistance.
“Police say once the ambulance arrived, the man was taken out of the police vehicle and collapsed. He was pronounced deceased in hospital shortly after midnight.”
The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) also heard allegations that RCMP members told witnesses to delete cellphone video that they had taken.
The BCPS shares that constables Ste-Marie and Monette’s use of force against Culver was “justified” under the framework of Section 25 of the Criminal Code.
“Cst. Ste-Marie, as the first responding officer, punched Mr. Culver in the head, at least once, while he was prone on the ground, but still resisting police. The use of force expert opined that this punch was reasonable as it was in response to an emergency call by a fellow officer during an arrest. There is little evidence on the level of force Cst. Ste-Marie used with this punch or that it caused any injuries to Mr. Culver,” the BCPS explained.
“In the totality of the circumstances the Crown has concluded that there is no reasonable prospect of conviction on the lesser included offences and a stay of proceedings will be directed.”
CityNews has reached out to the BC Prosecution Service for more information and BC Civil Liberties Association for comment.