Chair-Initiated Complaint into the RCMP Shooting Death of Dennis St. Paul – Final Report
Complainant:
Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP
August 16, 2006
File No.: PC-2005-0016
Overview
On January 3, 2005, Constable Darcy Muth of the Norway House, Manitoba, RCMP Detachment arrested Mr. Dennis St. Paul on a parole apprehension warrant at the restaurant where Mr. St. Paul was working. Mr. St. Paul initially cooperated with Constable Muth, who decided not to handcuff Mr. St. Paul. Mr. St. Paul fled when Constable Muth opened the door to put Mr. St. Paul in the police vehicle. Constable Muth called for back-up and pursued Mr. St. Paul and caught him a short distance away. Constable Muth attempted to handcuff Mr. St. Paul, but Mr. St. Paul fled across a snow-covered field. Constable Muth returned to his police vehicle to patrol the area and locate Mr. St. Paul.
Constable Muth located Mr. St. Paul a short time later and pursued him again and caught up to him. Constable Muth pepper sprayed Mr. St. Paul to no effect. Constable Muth and Mr. St. Paul became involved in a physical altercation during which Constable Muth used his expandable baton to strike Mr. St. Paul on the thigh. Mr. St. Paul pushed Constable Muth down to the ground and took the expandable baton away from Constable Muth. Mr. St. Paul started to hit Constable Muth on the head with the expandable baton. Constable Muth believed that he was in fear of losing his life and shot Mr. St. Paul, who died from his injuries.
On January 6, 2005, Ms. Shirley Heafey, as then Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, initiated a complaint pursuant to subsection 45.37(1) of the RCMP Act. The complaint essentially alleges that an unidentified member of the RCMP, subsequently identified as Constable Muth, shot Mr. St. Paul, and that there was no justification for the shooting, which resulted in the death of Mr. St. Paul.
The RCMP concluded that Constable Muth feared for his life and was justified in using the amount of force that he did.
Pursuant to subsection 45.42(1) of the RCMP Act, the Commission is required to review any complaint initiated pursuant to subsection 45.37(1) of the Act.
After reviewing all of the evidence, I have concluded that Constable Muth was justified in using lethal force when he shot Mr. St. Paul.
Commission's Review of the Complaint
It is important to note that the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP is an agency of the federal government, distinct and independent from the RCMP. When reviewing a complaint, the Commission does not act as an advocate either for the complainant or for RCMP members. Rather, its role is to inquire into complaints independently and to reach conclusions after an objective examination of the evidence.
My finding, as detailed below, is based on a careful examination of the following materials: the RCMP's extensive investigation into the death of Mr. St. Paul; the RCMP's public complaint investigative report; and applicable law and RCMP policy. I have also considered the RCMP's Administrative Review of the original investigation and the Inquest Report dated July 19, 2006.
Allegation: Constable Darcy Muth shot Mr. Dennis St. Paul on January 3, 2005, and there was no justification for the shooting, which resulted in the death of Mr. St. Paul.
Background
On July 9, 2004, Mr. Dennis St. Paul was released on parole from the Stony Mountain Institution near Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he was serving a four-and-one-half-year sentence for break and enter and other related offences. Mr. St. Paul had a lengthy criminal record mostly for property offences such as theft and break and enter.
Mr. St. Paul was scheduled to live in Norway House, Manitoba, located approximately 450 kilometres north of Winnipeg. The population of Norway House is approximately 6,000 persons and is comprised mainly of members of the Norway House First Nation. Mr. St. Paul was an Aboriginal person from another Manitoba First Nation.
Mr. St. Paul was required, among other things, to report to his parole officer in Thompson, Manitoba, located approximately 190 kilometres north of Norway House, on July 10, 2004. Mr. St. Paul was also required to abstain from intoxicants. Mr. St. Paul did not report to his parole officer and a warrant of apprehension for violation of his parole was issued. The Norway House RCMP was advised in mid-July 2004 of Mr. St. Paul's release from prison and that he would be residing in Norway House but was not advised of the outstanding warrant of apprehension. The Norway House RCMP opened a file at that time relating to Mr. St. Paul's release into the community of Norway House.
Constable Darcy Muth, also an Aboriginal person,[1] started working in Norway House in early September 2004. On September 3, 2004 Corporal Stan Knight, the Norway House RCMP Acting Detachment Commander, assigned the file regarding Mr. St. Paul to Constable Muth. On September 29, 2004, the Norway House RCMP received a fax advising of the warrant of apprehension for Mr. St. Paul and that Mr. St. Paul was believed to be living in Norway House with Ms. Crystal Gunn.
On October 22, 2004, Constable Muth confirmed that Mr. St. Paul had not yet contacted his parole officer and that the warrant of apprehension was still active. Constable Muth attended Ms. Gunn's residence and spoke to Ms. Gunn, who advised Constable Muth that Mr. St. Paul was not home. Mr. St. Paul contacted Constable Muth by telephone later that afternoon and spoke to Constable Muth. Mr. St. Paul agreed to turn himself in the following morning, but he did not do so.
Constable Muth attended Ms. Gunn's residence on October 26, 2004, and spoke with Ms. Gunn's mother, who advised Constable Muth that Ms. Gunn and Mr. St. Paul had gone to Winnipeg to get some court problems dealt with. Constable Muth checked the status of the warrant on October 26, 2004, November 10, 2004, and December 31, 2004. On December 31, 2004, Constable Muth spoke with Ms. Gunn, who advised that Mr. St. Paul was back and forth between Winnipeg and Norway House and that he was working at the "diner."
Ms. Gunn later confirmed after Mr. St. Paul's death that Mr. St. Paul was aware there was a warrant for his arrest for failing to report to his parole officer. Ms. Gunn stated that, when Constable Muth spoke to her on December 31, 2004, he encouraged her to tell Mr. St. Paul to turn himself in. According to Ms. Gunn, Mr. St. Paul was not a violent person.
Mr. St. Paul's Arrest
Mr. St. Paul was employed at the York Boat Diner, a restaurant located near the Multi-Plex recreation centre in Norway House. On Monday, January 3, 2005 at approximately 2:30 p.m., Constable Muth attended the restaurant on an unrelated matter. Constable Muth stated that although he had heard that Mr. St. Paul might be working at the restaurant he did not go to the restaurant specifically to deal with Mr. St. Paul. Constable Muth advised that he had no idea of the shift that Mr. St. Paul might be working but he had it "in the back of his mind . to inquire about whether he was working there."
Constable Muth confirmed that he had reviewed Mr. St. Paul's criminal record when he first saw the file, but he did not recall the exact details when he attended the restaurant. Constable Muth stated that when he was at the restaurant, he saw Mr. St. Paul working in the kitchen. After he completed the task he originally attended the restaurant for, Constable Muth asked out of "courtesy" if he could go speak to Mr. St. Paul. Constable Muth attended the kitchen area and spoke to the cook, who advised that Mr. St. Paul was working that day, but he did not know where Mr. St. Paul was. Mr. St. Paul then re-entered the kitchen area and Constable Muth told him that he was under arrest and that there was a warrant out for his arrest.
The cook recalled that Mr. St. Paul told Constable Muth that he had already spoken with his parole officer. According to the cook, Constable Muth told Mr. St. Paul that his name was still on the system so he was going to have to place him under arrest. The cook stated that Constable Muth told Mr. St. Paul words to the effect: "you can make a phone call at the Detachment and then we'll see where we can go from there but right now I am still placing you under arrest." Constable Muth stated that he did not read Mr. St. Paul his rights at that time because he planned to do it in the police vehicle.
Constable Muth asked Mr. St. Paul if he was going to be any trouble and if he was going to have to use the "cuffs." According to Constable Muth, Mr. St. Paul stated: "no, we'll go, let's get this dealt with." Constable Muth allowed Mr. St. Paul to use the telephone on the way out of the restaurant. Mr. St. Paul attempted to phone home but there was no answer. Constable Muth stated that Mr. St. Paul had originally asked to see his children, but he told Mr. St. Paul that they had "things [they] need[ed] to deal with first" and that they would "try and arrange something later."
There were four other persons working at the restaurant at the time of Mr. St. Paul's arrest. The witnesses described that Mr. St. Paul walked out of the restaurant followed by Constable Muth. There was no behaviour observed by the witnesses that suggested Mr. St. Paul was not being cooperative. According to Constable Muth, Mr. St. Paul was "absolutely cooperative," Mr. St. Paul walked "normally" and "[n]othing in [Mr. St. Paul's] body language alerted [him]."
Constable Muth escorted Mr. St. Paul to the police vehicle and used a remote to unlock the doors. When Constable Muth went to open the door, Mr. St. Paul ran away. Constable Muth told Mr. St. Paul to stop and started to chase him on foot. Constable Muth advised the RCMP detachment that he was in foot pursuit of Mr. St. Paul. Corporal Knight was at the RCMP detachment and went to the detachment garage to get a police vehicle to attend the area to assist Constable Muth.
Constable Muth caught up to Mr. St. Paul a short distance from the police vehicle and grabbed him by the shoulders and they fell to the ground. Constable Muth was on Mr. St. Paul's back and attempted to control him to handcuff him and told him that he was under arrest. Mr. St. Paul was able to throw Constable Muth off to the side and got up and continued running over a snowbank and into a snow covered field. Constable Muth attempted to follow, but the snow was too deep.
Constable Muth returned to his police vehicle and advised that Mr. St. Paul had evaded him and he was going to patrol the area to locate him. Corporal Knight left the RCMP detachment, some five kilometres away, to make his way to the scene. Constable Muth drove around the field that Mr. St. Paul had fled through and drove to the Norway House Mall where he believed Mr. St. Paul had gone to. Constable Muth drove around the mall and a gas bar and eventually observed Mr. St. Paul running by the Mall. Constable Muth stopped his police vehicle near the back of the Mall and pursued Mr. St. Paul on foot down a snowmobile track. Constable Muth advised Corporal Knight that he was on foot pursuit again.
Constable Muth caught up to Mr. St. Paul and told him to stop. When Mr. St. Paul did not stop, Constable Muth pepper sprayed Mr. St. Paul in the facial area. Mr. St. Paul continued to run, showing no ill effects from the pepper spray. Constable Muth stated that he "decided to follow [Mr. St. Paul] at a bit of a distance" and that he knew "[his] Corporal was coming in a vehicle and [he] updated him on [his] location." Constable Muth continued following Mr. St. Paul on the snowmobile track until they reached a road where Mr. St. Paul began reaching into his pockets for something.
Constable Muth believed that Mr. St. Paul could be reaching for a weapon so he withdrew his pistol and told Mr. St. Paul to stop, to let him see his hands and to get on the ground. According to Constable Muth, Mr. St. Paul looked back and said: "Go ahead and shoot me." Constable Muth observed that Mr. St. Paul was putting gloves on that he had retrieved from his pocket so he put his pistol away.
Constable Muth stated that he "decided just to follow Mr. St. Paul as [he] had back-up on the way." Constable Muth described that Mr. St. Paul stopped and turned and came at him. Constable Muth explained that, although he was following Mr. St. Paul from a distance, they met in the middle of an intersection due to his own momentum and the fact that Mr. St. Paul turned and came back towards him.
Constable Muth stated that he grabbed Mr. St. Paul's shoulders to keep Mr. St. Paul's arms outside of his own and he told Mr. St. Paul repeatedly to "stop" and "get on the ground." According to Constable Muth, Mr. St. Paul told him that he should have let him see his kids. Constable Muth stated that he thought he should try and hold on to Mr. St. Paul until Corporal Knight arrived. Constable Muth explained that Mr. St. Paul "pulled his right arm back and it appeared to [him] as if [Mr. St. Paul] was about to hit [him]."
Constable Muth kicked Mr. St. Paul in the groin area, causing Mr. St. Paul to scream and yell "ow." Mr. St. Paul then moved his head down toward Constable Muth's right hand and bit into the fingers of his right hand. Constable Muth struck Mr. St. Paul in the face with his left hand to try to get him to let go. Mr. St. Paul released Constable Muth's fingers and then tried to kick Constable Muth. Constable Muth explained that he was able to step out of the way and was able to retrieve his expandable baton from his service belt.
Constable Muth continued to hold on to Mr. St. Paul with his left hand and extended his baton "while continuing to order [Mr. St. Paul] to get on the ground." Constable Muth explained that Mr. St. Paul continued to be combative, so he struck him with the baton in the left thigh twice. Constable Muth attempted to strike Mr. St. Paul a third time, but Mr. St. Paul was able to lift Constable Muth's arm and deflect the blow. Constable Muth described that his arm came across his body and Mr. St. Paul lunged forward and pushed him backward to the ground. Constable Muth stated that Mr. St. Paul was on top of him pinning him down partly with Constable Muth's own arm and Mr. St. Paul then took the baton away from him. According to Constable Muth, he had no leverage to hang on to the baton and could not stop Mr. St. Paul from taking it.
Constable Muth described that Mr. St. Paul then struck him on the head with the baton at least twice with one strike "solidly right on top of [his] head." Constable Muth suffered injuries to the top of his head and to the right side of his head that required stitches, and also suffered minor injuries to the bridge of his nose and to his right hand. Constable Muth later sought medical attention for his injuries and the RCMP took photographs of his injuries.
Constable Muth stated that after the second blow, he "remember[ed his] peripheral vision becoming ringed in back" and was "starting to fade and [he] felt that [he] was starting to black out." Constable Muth stated that he was "in fear of losing [his] life." Constable Muth recalled that Mr. St. Paul said words to the effect: "you should have let me see my kids" and "how does that feel."
There were several witnesses who observed portions of the chase and the physical altercation between Constable Muth and Mr. St. Paul. The witnesses consistently stated that Mr. St. Paul was on top of Constable Muth, hitting him in the area of the head with the baton. One witness nearby stated that he heard Mr. St. Paul say, "see how it feels," and another witness stated he heard Mr. St. Paul say, "you wanna see how it feels." Mr. St. Paul was noted to be larger than Constable Muth, but not to a great degree.
Constable Muth drew his pistol and fired two shots from his side up towards Mr. St. Paul's centre of mass. Mr. St. Paul was struck in his chest and abdomen with the bullets, and then fell to the ground. Constable Muth got up and Corporal Knight arrived right after. Although an ambulance was called, Corporal Knight transported Mr. St. Paul immediately to the hospital, approximately seven kilometres away. Mr. St. Paul was treated in the emergency room, but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after. An autopsy concluded that Mr. St. Paul died from a gunshot wound to the chest with massive hemothorax.
Analysis
A person who has violated their parole is prima facie[2] a flight risk. Constable Muth candidly acknowledged that he did not recall the details of Mr. St. Paul's criminal record at the time that he attended the York Boat Diner. Had Constable Muth refreshed his memory regarding the details of Mr. St. Paul's background before attempting to arrest Mr. St. Paul, he may have approached the arrest of Mr. St. Paul in a different fashion. As it was, Constable Muth chose to arrest Mr. St. Paul without the assistance of back-up and without handcuffing Mr. St. Paul. Although these may not have been the best choices to make, they were not strictly against RCMP policy[3] and did take into account the overall context.[4]
Once Mr. St. Paul fled from Constable Muth, Constable Muth was obliged to pursue him and would have been remiss in his duties to allow Mr. St. Paul to leave unchallenged. Constable Muth advised Corporal Knight of the circumstances and Corporal Knight immediately proceeded to make his way to Constable Muth's location. Once Mr. St. Paul escaped Constable Muth's custody, it would have become apparent to Constable Muth that there would likely be some use of force required to get Mr. St. Paul back into custody.
The RCMP utilizes the Incident Management/Intervention Model ("IM/IM") to train/guide members in the use of force, promote risk assessment and depict various levels of resistance/behaviours and reasonable intervention options. Among others, the IM/IM is based on the principle that the best strategy is the least intervention necessary to manage risk. Accordingly, the best intervention causes the least harm or damage.
The guide promotes verbal interventions wherever possible to defuse situations to promote professional, polite and respectful attitudes towards the individuals the police are dealing with. The guide is based on the RCMP's "CAPRA" problem solving model[5] and requires members to take situational factors into account when determining the amount of force to use, such as the size of the suspect versus the member's size and the number of members present versus suspects.
Constable Muth followed a logical progression through the levels of force available to him and allowed under the IM/IM. The first levels of response under the IM/IM include verbal intervention and tactical repositioning. As a person's level of response progresses from being non-cooperative to combative, the IM/IM authorizes increasing levels of force from soft empty hand control to the use of pepper spray to hard empty hand control. As a person becomes more combative, impact weapons such as the expandable baton are authorized.
Constable Muth attempted repeated verbal intervention by giving direction to Mr. St. Paul to stop and get on the ground because he was under arrest. Constable Muth attempted soft empty hand control when he first tried to subdue Mr. St. Paul near the York Boat Diner and later when they grappled on the road. Constable Muth attempted the use of pepper spray after Mr. St. Paul had refused to cooperate and had resisted arrest.
Constable Muth drew his pistol when Mr. St. Paul reached into his pocket and Constable Muth did not know if Mr. St. Paul was reaching for a weapon. Constable Muth properly re-holstered his pistol as soon as he determined that Mr. St. Paul was only putting gloves on. Constable Muth attempted to try tactical repositioning by staying a distance from Mr. St. Paul until Corporal Knight arrived, but when Mr. St. Paul stopped and came towards Constable Muth, Constable Muth's momentum carried him forward and they met and started to grapple.
Constable Muth believed that Mr. St. Paul was going to strike him so Constable Muth attempted hard empty hand control by kicking Mr. St. Paul, but Mr. St. Paul responded by biting Constable Muth's hand. Constable Muth attempted further hard empty hand control to get Mr. St. Paul to release his bite and then attempted to use his expandable baton to gain Mr. St. Paul's compliance. Constable Muth was likely not able to effectively swing his baton because he was still holding on to Mr. St. Paul with one hand.
Constable Muth struck Mr. St. Paul in the thigh/leg with the expandable baton consistent with RCMP training. Mr. St. Paul, however, then took the baton away from Constable Muth and started to strike Constable Muth in the head with no indication that he was going to stop.
Constable Muth described that he was beginning to black out. This description is consistent with the injuries suffered by Constable Muth as depicted in the photographs and documented in the medical evidence. It is also consistent with the evidence from witnesses who observed the final altercation. Constable Muth described that he was in fear of losing his life. Given the blows that Mr. St. Paul was administering to Constable Muth, this would appear to have been a reasonable fear.
It was at this point that Constable Muth resorted to lethal force and fired two shots into Mr. St. Paul's center of mass, consistent with RCMP firearms training. Given the danger of death or grievous bodily harm to Constable Muth, the use of lethal force was authorized under the IM/IM. Given Constable Muth was lawfully apprehending Mr. St. Paul to complete Mr. St. Paul's arrest pursuant to the warrant of apprehension and Constable Muth had a reasonable belief of death or grievous bodily harm, Constable Muth's use of lethal force was also consistent with the principles of self defence and protection of persons administering and enforcing the law contained in the Criminal Code of Canada.[6]
The circumstances involving the death of Mr. St. Paul are indeed tragic, not only for Mr. St. Paul's family, but also for the community and for Constable Muth. Despite the tragic outcome, the Commission must objectively assess the evidence to determine whether or not Constable Muth used excessive force by shooting Mr. St. Paul. Given all of the circumstances, I am satisfied that Constable Muth was justified in using lethal force when he shot Mr. St. Paul.
Finding: Constable Muth was justified in using lethal force when he shot Mr. St. Paul.
Pursuant to subsection 45.42(2) of the RCMP Act, I respectfully submit my Final Report.
___________________________
Paul E. Kennedy
Chair
[1] According to the Report by Provincial Court Judge on Inquest dated July 19, 2006.
[2] On the face of it.
[3] There is no RCMP policy regarding back-up being required when arresting either a violent offender or someone who is prima facie a flight risk. RCMP policy provides that the decision to handcuff is discretionary.
[4] Mr. St. Paul was wanted for failing to report to his parole officer as opposed to failing to abstain from intoxicants, which failure could reasonably be expected to have other impacts on Mr. St. Paul's behaviour; Mr. St. Paul was living in the community and had gained employment despite the fact that he knew Constable Muth was looking for him to arrest him; Constable Muth did not go to the restaurant to arrest Mr. St. Paul and was not even sure if he worked there; and Mr. St. Paul was by all indications cooperative.
[5] CAPRA stands for Clients, Acquire/Analyze Information, Partnerships, Response and Assessment of Action Taken.
[6] See subsections 25(1), 25(3) and 34(2) of the Criminal Code.