Partial eclipse of the heart

And whose safety? Plus, a song about Carney Hill from 1972

Happy eclipse day. Here’s what we can expect in Prince George, assuming the clouds don’t cover it:

This link gives you more detail about the start, path and end expected. If that’s not exciting enough for you, I suggest marking your calendar for March 30, 2033 when we get a pretty good view as Alaska experiences its own total solar eclipse.

Me, I’m pretty happy to have been getting a bit of rain here. The early flowers need it — here’s the first signs in my garden:

Perceptions of safety

Dale Culver's family members stand silent as a drum group played before the court hearing.

There’s been a lot of talk about safety in this community, with city councillors and the mayor, as outlined in Friday’s newsletter, planning to hold community meetings. With that in mind, I want to talk a bit about a Friday rally I reported on outside the Prince George courthouse, for the death of Dale Culver, a Gitxsan-Wet’suwet’en man who died after being arrested by RCMP in 2017. Two officers charged with manslaughter are now no longer facing trial, the details of which you can read about here. But I also want to share the full details from the B.C. Prosecution Service’s lengthy public release about this, which you can read in full here. I am quoting below here starting from page 6, the outline of evidence around what happened. Bold has been added by me.

Around 10:00 pm on July 18, 2017, in downtown Prince George, a police officer responded to a call  about a suspicious male on foot looking in cars. The caller said the suspect was Caucasian and wearing dark clothes. The caller said the suspect might have a weapon and might have a partner  on a bicycle. 

The officer responded to the area and saw Mr. Culver, a visibly Indigenous man, riding a BMX bike  without a helmet. From his police vehicle, the officer asked Mr. Culver to stop. Instead, Mr. Culver  cycled away. The officer decided that Mr. Culver was now arrestable, either for not stopping for police or because he was not wearing a helmet. A chase ensued, with Mr. Culver on his bike and  the officer, first in his police vehicle, and later on foot. Several civilians saw the chase. 

The arresting officer eventually caught Mr. Culver and pulled him off his bike backward by his  backpack. Mr. Culver fell partially on the officer’s arm, injuring it. A wrestling match ensued, with  the officer trying to arrest Mr. Culver and Mr. Culver resisting. The officer got on top of Mr. Culver  fairly quickly and attempted to deliver an elbow strike to the side of Mr. Culver’s head. Mr. Culver  may have been trying to punch from the bottom, but none of the punches were getting through.  The officer was worried enough that he pressed the emergency button on his uniform, causing a  10-33 “officer needs assistance” emergency call to all available police officers in the area.

Eventually, the officer sprayed pepper spray into Mr. Culver’s face for three to five seconds. Mr. Culver covered his face with his hands and turned over onto his stomach. The officer attempted to  handcuff Mr. Culver without success. The arrest happened in the middle of the street in downtown  Prince George. It was dark, but with lighting from streetlamps. There was a liquor store and other  businesses in the immediate area. Many bystanders witnessed the incident.  

Three workers from a local pizza shop were close by. One of them saw the officer needed help and  went over to assist. They held Mr. Culver’s arm or shoulder. At this point, multiple police officers  started arriving in response to the 10-33 emergency call.  

The first on scene was Cst. Ste-Marie, screeching to a stop just in front of the men in the middle of the  road. He quickly exited his vehicle, ran up and shoved the bystander who was assisting aside. He then  punched Mr. Culver in the back of the head at least once. The second officer on the scene was Cst. Monette. Witnesses describe him striking Mr. Culver near his head or upper body as well, although  descriptions vary about whether the strikes were kicks, knees, or punches and where they landed. 

Up to twelve police officers arrived; eventually around seven of them surrounded Mr. Culver,  attempting to handcuff him. At one point, one of the officers delivered several hammer fists to Mr.  Culver’s legs. Other officers were doing things like twisting his ear and trying pressure points. One  officer said that Cst. Ste-Marie sprayed pepper spray into the palm of his gloved hand and placed the glove over Mr. Culver’s mouth. 

Mr. Culver was possibly moving, rolling, kicking his legs and pulling his arms away through much  of his arrest. It is unclear if this was because he was resisting or being beaten is hard to say, but it  was clear the officers had difficulty trying to control Mr. Culver. One or more officers said, “Stop  resisting”, and at some point during the arrest Mr. Culver said, “I can’t breathe”. 

The video evidence only shows the end of the arrest, when several officers were kneeling around  Mr. Culver for about 30 seconds, still attempting to handcuff him. There was no beating at this  point. Eventually, police were able to cuff him using two sets of handcuffs connected to each other.

It appears that as soon as Mr. Culver was placed in handcuffs all the officers got up and pulled  away. Two officers then stood him up and walked him to a police vehicle.  

Shortly after the arrest, while in the back of the police car, Mr. Culver again complained about not being able to breathe and said he needed air. He was able to speak and answer questions. EHS  attendants, who were in the area standing by, attempted to assess his condition. Mr. Culver was  initially responsive with the attendants but then, forty-five seconds later, collapsed and died. A  total of 29 minutes elapsed from the end of the interaction with the officers until his death. 

The report goes on to conclude that although Culver’s interaction with police likely led to having a heart attack:

The reviewing pathologist found that Mr. Culver’s heart had “chronic damage from ongoing methamphetamine use” and that he was “vulnerable to sudden cardiac  death at any moment”.  

…

Mr. Culver’s altercation with the police was non-fatal. Reassessing whether there was any prospect  of conviction in light of this critical fact led to the determination that the Crown could not proceed  on the manslaughter charge. Mr. Culver died of a heart attack caused by long-term  methamphetamine use. Although his condition was exacerbated by the struggle with police, Mr. Culver was vulnerable to such a death at any moment. Given the absence of any fatal injuries and  given the time separating the altercation and his collapse, during which he was conscious,  responsive, and able to walk (with assistance), there remains no basis upon which to find the officers legally culpable in his death. 

I’m going to wager that how you read the above — or the report as a whole — has a lot to do with your perceptions of, or personal interactions with, police. And I’d also wager that those perceptions are likely at least partially influenced by whether you are caucasian, like the person who was initially reported for casing cars, or Indigenous, like the person who was stopped by police as a result of the report and who ultimately died following the interaction. And it strikes me as notable that when 100 people showed up on the court house steps Friday morning, the vast, vast majority were Indigenous, including hereditary chief Namoks who had traveled from Wet’suwet’en territory near Smithers to be there. Not present were any locally elected politicians who have made public safety a central part of their platforms, be they municipal, provincial or federal. I get why. But it’s times like these when it really feels like there are two different cities, two different perceptions of what safety looks like and who is equipped to provide feelings of security for everyone who lives here.

---

News roundup:

• Iona Campagnolo, B.C.’s first fermal Lieutenant-Governor and UNBC’s founding chancellor, has died.

• What does the destruction of 99 per cent of B.C.’s vineyards mean for Prince George’s winery?

• UNBC class holding survey about cost of living in Prince George.

• Snow clearing costs under scrutiny.

• Drugs and danger never far away for downtown Prince George street survivor.

• Prince George records 13 illicit drug deaths in February.

• PG housing activity heating up with spring nearing full bloom.

• It’s Cougars vs. Rockets in the second round.

• The Prince George Kodiaks are champions of the “Rumble in the Rockies”.

• Three UNBC students won awards for their presentations and posters at the Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers Symposium in Kelowna in March.

Today’s song:

---

Northern Capital News is a free, daily newsletter about life in Prince George. Please consider subscribing or, if you have, sharing with someone else.

Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.