Family of Indigenous man who died after arrest dismayed at delay in Mounties' court appearances

The family of an Indigenous man who died after being arrested by RCMPmore than six years ago say they were upset to learnlong-awaited court appearances for the officers charged in his death have been put over until later in the spring.

At a news conference Monday, relatives of Dale Culver said they found out with less than a day's notice that hearings scheduled to take place in Prince George, B.C., onTuesday have beenpostponed.

"It's just like a nightmare," said VirginiaPierre, Culver's aunt.

"We've been waiting over six years and then all of a sudden nothing is happening tomorrow? There's something wrong here."

All five Prince George RCMP officers charged in Culver's death are now set toappear in provincial court on May 2.

Twoface manslaughter charges, while the three were charged with obstruction of justicein relation to events that took place immediately after Culver's death.

Culver, 35, was a father of three and a member of the Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan First Nations. He diedafter having trouble breathing followinghis arrest in the cityin 2017.

WATCH | Lily Speed-Namox speaks about her father:

Daughter of man who died in RCMP custody regrets the memories they'll never get to make

2 years ago

Duration 1:11

Lily Speed-Namox was just 14 when her father, Dale Culver, died in police custody. Her siblings were even younger. After five RCMP officers were charged in Culver's death, Speed-Namox says the memories they'll never get to make with him is "a hard pill to swallow."

Culver was taken into custodyafter police were called about a man allegedly casing vehicles, according to B.C.'s police oversight agency. Areport saidhewas pepper-sprayed during a struggle, had trouble breathing and died.

"We can't celebrate the normal things a family experiences," said Culver's eldest daughter, Lily Speed-Namox, now 20.

"I was scared angry and confused as to how people who are supposed to help and guide and keep people safe could take those people's lives away just as fast."

ConstablesPaul Ste-Marie and Jean Francois Monetteface themanslaughter charges.

Const. Arthur Dalman, Const. Clarence (Alex) Alexander MacDonaldand Sgt. Bayani (Jon) Eusebio Cruz face the attempted obstruction charges.

Four of the five Ste-Marie, Monette, Dalman and Cruz remain on active duty. MacDonald is on administrative leave for reasons unrelated to Culver's death, RCMP previously said.

Anindependent review in 2019 found "reasonable grounds'' to believe two officers may have committed offences related to use of force and three others may have obstructed justice, but the Crown was not handed a final report until 2020.

Charge approval took nearly three more years a delay the family and the head of the Independent Investigation Office of B.C. agreed was "unacceptable."

At a news conference Monday, B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth whose ministry oversees the RCMP said the province is looking to table new legislation this year to ensure investigations move quicker.

"As we have seen, Indigenous people are significantlyover-representedin our correctional facilities and, in too many cases, have suffered fatalities, and that's simply not acceptable," Farnworthsaid.

Allegations officers told witnesses to delete video

In Canada, manslaughter is defined as homicide committed without an intent to cause death,although there maybean intention to cause bodily harm.

Obstruction is an offence that requires "a wilful attempt by an accused, in any manner, to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice."

In 2018, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA)filed a formal complaint with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, alleging Mounties had told witnesses to delete video footage of Culver's arrest.

The association also questioned whether "explicit orimplicit racial bias" had played a role in the case. The complaint said the BCCLA was told there were "several hours" between the initial call to police andarrival of RCMP on the scene, raising questions about whether Culverwas approached because he was Indigenous.

Culver's death led to allegations ofanti-Indigenous racism in policingand was a focus duringa number of protestsin northern B.C. following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota in May 2020.