RCMP officer charged with manslaughter in death of Indigenous man, now facing assault charge

Prince George RCMP Const. Paul Ste. Marie has been charged with assault in connection with an arrest on Aug 22, 2022. 

RCMP say arrests were made after a vehicle fled a traffic stop, rammed a police car and collided with another cruiser before the occupants fled on foot. The individuals also fired shots at officers before being arrested, according to police. 

Two people have been charged with multiple offences in relation to the ramming of the police cruiser, including possession of an unauthorized weapon and obstructing police. 

One of those arrested, Dilmeet Chahal, says they were tasered in the face twice and punched while already handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser. Chahal sued the RCMP in February, but the lawsuit does not name Ste-Marie directly.

The B.C. Prosecution Service says the arrest that has led to the assault charge against Ste. Marie was investigated by the Quesnel RCMP detachment. The B.C Independent Investigations Office says it was not involved in the investigation. 

2nd charge for officer

This is the second criminal charge for Const. Paul Ste-Marie. He is also charged with manslaughter in an unrelated matter in the death of Dale Culver, an Indigenous man who died after being arrested in 2017. 

It took six years for the manslaughter charges in that case to be approved against Ste-Marie and one other officer. The arrest that resulted in Ste. Marie being charged with assault occurred a few months after he was charged with manslaughter.

In June, after another postponement, Culver's family expressed dismay over the repeated delays in proceedings relating to the officers' actions. 

Const. Jean Francois Monette is also charged with manslaughter in Culver's death. Three others are charged with attempting to obstruct justice.

Both Ste-Marie and Monette have pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge.