Nine years later, Dale Culver’s family reacts to sentencing of RCMP officer

Dalman’s conviction is due to him asking bystanders to delete cellphone footage during the Dale Culver interaction with police in 2017, where Culver would later die while in police custody. This conviction means Dalman has a criminal record, must report to a probation officer, and must complete 150 hours of community work service.

“Learning that there was efforts to taint the investigation by asking people to delete video automatically put in our minds: ‘What are they hiding? Why would you do that? Why would one want to ask the public to delete video?’ That to me was a huge question in my mind, and as a family, like ‘what are they hiding?'” Pierre said.

“The level of trust that we put upon RCMP members is so much higher because of the work that they do. So when I think about an RCMP being convicted of obstruction, I would expect that that would also come with a higher consequence and 18 months probation, to me, didn’t fit what we witnessed in the courtroom,” she continued.

On the other hand, Voller believes 18 months is an “appropriate” sentence.

“I think 18 months, relative to the overall circumstance, is a finding that is appropriate given the totality of the circumstance, the weight that the court puts on what a police officer is required to do,” Voller said.

While Voller called the sentencing “appropriate,” he did explain he wasn’t happy with the entire court process. The sentencing was decided by Judge Michael Fortino, but Voller says Fortino was bound by previous decisions from a separate judge, Judge Adrian Brooks, and Voller believes there were “missteps and error in law,” regarding Judge Brooks.

“In some of the evidence that people gave viva voce, so oral evidence, he disregarded. In my opinion, he disregarded it wrongfully. And in some cases where three individuals provided the same information and one individual provided a different perspective, he chose to disregard three people’s perspective and go with just one, bearing in mind that none of those other three people had anything that would say that they were not credible witnesses,” Voller said.

As for Pierre and Culver’s family, Pierre says there won’t be closure until more answers and clarity comes from this case, something she says she will continue to fight and advocate for.

“Part of closure is fully understanding what happened to our loved one. Part of closure is having that truth be told about what happened to him,” she said.

Over these last nine years Pierre says she has become quite familiar with the court systems and proceedings, so she hopes to advocate not just on Culver’s behalf, but for overall systemic change.

“There’s so much more work that needs to happen within the RCMP system to ensure the safety of all people throughout British Columbia and Canada, and that Indigenous people should not have to walk in fear or fear phoning the RCMP, even for a wellness check,” Pierre said.

“We need to see change. Our family is committed to move forward, to continue to seek justice, to find ways and make recommendations for these types of changes for a safer community,” she continued.

Of the five officers tried in court surrounding the Dale Culver case, Dalman is the only one to be convicted.

by Tommy Osborne

Nine years later, Dale Culver’s family reacts to sentencing of RCMP officer

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