Prince George RCMP officer receives absolute discharge for assault of suspect

A former Prince George Mountie was given an absolute discharge Monday for hitting a handcuffed suspect in a burst of anger following a tense chase and an exchange of gunfire that a prosecutor said left the officer fearing for the lives of his colleagues.

In a brief Vancouver provincial court hearing, Crown counsel Cory Lo said Const. Paul Ste-Marie punched Dilmeet Chahal on the chin with the back of his fist in August 2022 as Chahal sat in a cruiser breathing heavily.

Lo said the officer's actions violated the fundamental principles of the justice system — that prisoners are entitled to be safe and that it's not up to police officers to mete out justice.

But if not excusable, Lo said Ste-Marie's actions were understandable given "unique" circumstances that saw the 27-year-old officer rammed by a vehicle flagged for homicide and gang connections before a foot chase with bullets flying.

"In the events leading up to the assault, Const. Ste-Marie had a very real, very reasonable fear that his life was in danger, and that sort of stress that one must feel in a life or death situation is difficult to imagine," Lo told the court.

"I would say that what Const. Ste. Marie did was unquestionably a criminal act, however it was also a very human failing."

'He faced death threats'

The absolute discharge — which means Ste-Marie will not have a criminal record — is the end of what his lawyer described as a seven-year legal odyssey, coming on the heels of a stay of proceedings in a separate 2017 case in which the officer was charged with manslaughter.

Just three days ago prosecutors in Prince George said a pathologist's report concluded an Indigenous man who died following a chase and a physical altercation with a number of officers including Ste-Marie died of cardiac arrest — not blunt trauma as initially believed.

"As it turns out, there was no homicide," Ravi Hira, Ste-Marie's lawyer told the court Monday.

"And that has hung over his head for seven years."

Monday's 25-minute court proceeding shed a different light on an officer whose name has been circulated widely in the news media — mostly in connection with the incident that ended in Dale Culver's death.

After the staying of charges against Ste-Marie and another officer, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs issued a statement quoting Culver's sister as saying: "We have a system that says if you have a gun and a badge, you can kill any Indigenous person in any town in B.C. and not go to jail."

Hira told the court Ste-Marie is himself Indigenous — growing up on a First Nations reserve in Quebec. He had long dreamed of being a police officer, volunteering at homeless shelters and elder centres.

Prince George was his first posting after graduating from the RCMP's training depot. And the incident with Culver happened during his first year on the job.

"He's fortunate, he's in a common-law relationship with a teacher that has spanned seven years,"  Hira said.

"But it is important to note that from the age of 21 to the age of almost 28, which is more than a quarter of his life, he's been facing ... the manslaughter charge which was stayed last Friday. He faced death threats and had to be moved from Prince George."

'No threat to anybody'

Lo said the incident that led to the assault began the previous day when Ste-Marie spotted a Jeep that was linked with a homicide in the Lower Mainland. The vehicle fled when the officer turned on his lights to pursue, but Ste-Marie gave up the chase for safety reasons.

The next day, the Jeep was flagged again and Ste-Marie was one of the officers involved in the chase. His vehicle was struck by the fleeing Jeep and Lo said Ste-Marie struck his head on the steering wheel.

The prosecutor said Ste-Marie ended up pursuing one of the Jeep's occupants on foot, which is when he heard gunshots being exchanged between another of the suspects and police.

"Const. Ste-Marie was fearful for his life," Lo told the court.

The assault happened as Ste-Marie was asking Chahal to acknowledge his arrest for attempting to flee police.

"At the time of the assault, Mr. Chahal was in police custody and posed no threat to anybody," Lo said.

"He was under complete control of the police, physically restrained and could not defend himself."

Ste-Marie diagnosed with PTSD

Chahal did not provide a victim impact statement.

Hira said the suspect had been tasered by other officers before Ste-Marie dealt with him.

"Despite the fact he is allegedly out of breath, he manages to manoeuvre himself so he's able to remove drugs from his back and move them in the back of the police car," Hira said.

"This activity occurs before and after the backhanded hit. There were no injuries sustained."

The defence lawyer said his client was also subjected to an RCMP code of conduct investigation that resulted in the loss of 10 days pay.

Towards the end of Monday's court proceeding, Ste-Marie offered a brief apology to Chahal — who was not in the courtroom.

Hira noted the officer has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder: "That is what seven years of deployment in Prince George does to officers."