Fatal VPD Shooting of 18-Year-Old in East Vancouver (Aug. 5, 2023)

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC is investigating the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old, identified as male, by Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officers in East Vancouver in the early-morning of August 5, 2023.

They report that at approximately 2:15 AM VPD received a report regarding the alleged sound of gunfire in Clinton Park, near Grant and Penticton Streets. Officers located a youth in the park and he was shot by police. He was transported to hospital, where he died.

Witnesses have since reported hearing around 20 shots. At least 24 police bullet casing markers have been shown in media reports. Witnesses say they only heard a sound like a firecracker before hearing a staccato of gunshots. Witnesses have also reported that they did not hear police give direction to the person before opening fire but only heard officers telling each other to be careful of a crossfire. No non-police firearm has been confirmed publicly as being present.

Vancouver Police Jail Guard Suspended Over May 2023 Death in Custody

A Vancouver police jail guard has been suspended with pay over the death of a man in custody in May 2023.

The man had been arrested on April 30, and was found in medical distress in a cell on May 1. He was transported to hospital and died sometime later.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) has been notified of the death and will conclude an investigation once the Independent Investigations Office IIO concludes its investigation.

The crucial details of the man’s arrest, his time in detention, the nature of his medical distress, and the date and time of his death have not been provided by the VPD. Police have not said what actions led to the suspension of the Vancouver jail guard.

This is another example of police controlling the flow of information when they kill.

Man Dies in Vancouver Police Department Custody (May 1-?)

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC has confirmed that a man who went into medical distress while in custody of the Vancouver Police Department ON May 1, 2023, has died. The IIO have not reported the date or time of death.

According to the IIO, at around 4:15 PM on April 30, man was arrested and detained in cells at the Vancouver Police Department jail. The following morning, at approximately 8:25 AM, the man was found to be in medical distress, and Emergency Health Services were called. He was transported to a local hospital, where he has since died.

No other details are available at this time.

Vancouver Police Shoot and Kill Man (Feb. 9, 2023)

Vancouver police shot and killed a man on the evening of February 9, 2023. The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC reports that police responded to a 911 call regarding a man near the north end of the Granville Street Bridge who was allegedly behaving erratically. VPD report that officers responded to the bridge at 6:45 PM. At some point there was an undisclosed “interaction” between the man and police during which shots were fired by police. The man was subsequently pronounced dead.

BC Emergency Health Services report that three ambulances and a supervisor were dispatched to the North End of the Granville Bridge around 6:54 PM. This would mean that police only interacted with the victim for under 10 minutes.

VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison told Global News that, “The person had either in his possession or had access to a weapon. The officers who were on scene believed that their safety or the safety of others was in danger or they were at risk of death or grievous bodily harm.” These are all rather vague statements and there is a difference between having a weapon and having access to a weapon. There has been no evidence of a non-police weapon, or what that alleged weapon was, provided publicly at this time.

Vancouver Police Shoot and Kill Man in Downtown Eastside (May 5, 2022)

Vancouver police shot and killed a man in his forties in the provincially owned Patricia Hotel in the city’s Downtown Eastside on May 5, 2022.

It is reported that Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officers were called to the Patricia Hotel at East Hastings and Dunlevy Avenue around 4 PM for reports of a person with a weapon. Police claim some type of “an altercation ensued and shots were fired.”

No other details have been made available publicly at this time. None of the police claims have been independently confirmed.

The Downtown Eastside is a neighborhood whose residents have been subjected to poor bashing and demonization by politicians, property owners, businesses, and developers over years.  In addition to extreme police violence, surveillance, and intervention.

This is the second person shot and killed by the VPD in the space of nine days. They shot and killed an Indigenous man in an apartment at Commercial Drive and Fifth Avenue on April 27.

Vancouver Police Shoot and Kill Man (April 27, 2022)

Vancouver police shot and killed a man in an apartment building near Commercial Drive and East 5th Avenue on the evening of April 27, 2022. It is reported that the victim was in his 40s.

Initial reports claim that Vancouver Police Department officers arrived at the building shortly after 8:30 PM. Witnesses report seeing at least a dozen police vehicles and hearing numerous shots around 10 PM. An ambulance was seen arriving at the site at around 11 PM. The area near Commercial Drive was reportedly blocked off for several hours.

Woman Dies in Vancouver Police Custody (May 1, 2021)

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC is investigating the death of a woman in Vancouver Police Department (VPD) custody on May 1, 2021. According to the IIO, the VPD arrested a woman in the 500-block of Powell Street on the morning of May 1, at approximately 8:55 AM, and transported her to VPD cells. At around 12:00 PM that day, she was found unresponsive in her cell. She was pronounced dead there.

Vancouver Police Shoot and Kill Chester Libo-On in Downtown Eastside (Jan. 5, 2021)

Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officers shot and killed Chester Libo-On, a 37-year-old man, in the city’s Downtown Eastside in the early morning of Tuesday, January 5, 2021. The Independent Investigations Office (IIO), which examines cases of police harm to civilians in British Columbia, is investigating.

It has been reported that the victim was in distress and paramedics were called to a residential building near Princess Avenue and Hastings Street just before 5 AM. Paramedics called police regarding a man acting “erratic and aggressive.” Police arrived and shot him. It has been reported that two VPD officers fired five shots at the victim.

Once again police action against someone in distress ends with that person being killed by cops. Policing is not about health and wellness.

Distressed Man Dies During Physical Intervention by Vancouver Police (Nov. 26, 2020)

A man in distress died when Vancouver police officers attempted to remove him from a downtown coffee shop on the evening of November 26, 2020. Vancouver police claim that they attended the Tim Hortons at Terminal Avenue near Main Street after 6:00 PM regarding a man who had allegedly been inside the bathroom for half an hour as staff attempted to close the dining area. At some point after he left the bathroom, police engaged in a “physical altercation” with the man who then went into “medical distress” and died at the scene. It is reported that police observed the man to be agitated before they became physical with him.

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO), which examines cases of police harm to civilians in British Columbia, is investigating.

Few details are available at this time. None of the police claims have been independently confirmed publicly.

Man Dies in Fall During Interaction with Vancouver Police (July 13, 2019)

The Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia, the agency that examines cases of police harm to civilians in the province, is investigating a police-involved death during an incident in Vancouver on July 13, 2019. According to the IIO, Vancouver Police report that officers responded to a report of a person throwing property from the upper floor of a residential building on Bidwell Street in Vancouver. A man fell from an upper floor to the ground shortly after officers entered the building. He did not survive the fall.