'He'll never get to see me graduate': Daughter regrets stolen time as RCMP officers charged in father's death
CBC
The family of an Indigenous man who died after being arrested by RCMP nearly six years ago are welcoming criminal charges against five officers but say they can't understand why it took half a decade for the charges to be laid.
Lily Speed-Namox was a teenager when her father, Dale Culver, died after having trouble breathing following his arrest in Prince George, B.C., in 2017. She's spent roughly a quarter of her life since waiting for the investigation to move forward.
"It has taken a long time to get to where we are," said Speed-Namox, now 20, speaking in an interview on Thursday.
"I don't think there should be any reason for it to take this long."
Culver, 35, was a father of three and a member of the Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan First Nations. His son and second daughter were four and six months old, respectively, when he died.
"He didn't get to see my little brother start his first day of school. He didn't get to see me graduate. He won't be able to see me get married," said Speed-Namox, who's worn a heart-shaped necklace containing her father's ashes since her 15th birthday.
"He'll never be able to see my little sister start kindergarten or graduate or anything like that ... That's a hard pill to swallow."
Watch | Lily Speed-Namox speaks about her father:
Culver was arrested after police were called about a man allegedly casing vehicles, according to B.C.'s police watchdog. A report said he was pepper sprayed during a struggle, had trouble breathing and died.
On Wednesday, Crown prosecutors announced two Mounties had been charged with manslaughter in connection with Culver's death. Three more officers were charged with obstruction of justice in relation to events that took place immediately after Culver died.
Constables Paul Ste-Marie and Jean Francois Monette face charges of manslaughter.
Const. Arthur Dalman, Const. Clarence (Alex) Alexander MacDonald and Sgt. Bayani (Jon) Eusebio Cruz face the attempted obstruction charges.
All five officers are due in court on March 14.
In Canada, manslaughter is defined as homicide committed without an intent to cause death, although there may be an intention to cause bodily harm.