UBCIC demands immediate VPD reform in wake of in-custody death
Posted August 26, 2022 5:18 pm.
Last Updated August 26, 2022 5:23 pm.
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is calling for a public inquiry into the death of an Indigenous man who died after Vancouver Police Department officers shot him with a beanbag gun on the Downtown Eastside.
This push for the inquiry relates to the death of Chris Amyotte, an Ojibway father and grandfather, who died in custody outside the Laxmi Convenience Store on East Hastings Street. He was 42.
Amyotte “went into medical distress and lost consciousness,” according to Vancouver police, however, witnesses say he had been bear sprayed and ran into the convenience store to get a carton of milk — often used to flush out pepper spray. Police were then called.
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A witness to the event, Makeda Martin, told CityNews earlier this week that Amyotte was naked, screaming for help, and pouring milk on himself in his final moments.
In a statement Friday, UBCIC is calling for an “immediate, transparent, and transformative response, including a public inquiry into Chris Amyotte’s death and systemic change to the VPD, especially in their approach to Indigenous peoples and residents of the Downtown Eastside (DTES).”
“There is a chronic lack of accountability and ongoing violence and murder of Indigenous peoples by VPD and police forces throughout B.C. – the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) has so far not been effective at addressing this reality,” the organization wrote.
UBCIC secretary-treasurer Kukpi7 Judy Wilson told CityNews that instead of receiving the help he needed, Amyotte was shot.
UBCIC is calling for an immediate, transparent, and transformative response, including a public inquiry into Chris Amyotte’s death and systemic change to the VPD, especially in their approach to Indigenous peoples and residents of the DTES. https://t.co/E02sK8szxj pic.twitter.com/fXFdTpzCep
— UBCIC (@UBCIC) August 26, 2022
“That is very traumatic, to the people there, to himself, and to his family, and his loved ones,” Wilson said. “… This is another atrocity, another form of genocide happening to our people in the Downtown Eastside. And unfortunately, it’s [happening] every other day. And this has to stop.”
Wilson says a broad reform of police, including the VPD needs to occur, including addressing the lack of accountability and the “ongoing, escalated violence” that is occurring in the DTES.
“It’s part of a broader [set] of symptoms, from being oppressed, that forced genocide onto reserves and residential school, there’s a real lack of accountability. … The murder of Indigenous people, [there’s been] more and more occurrence and happening. And that’s the part that needs to cease.
“And also to bring in a better de-escalation and a trauma-informed approach, rather than having the police just pull their gun out when someone’s actually in distress. We need those culturally safe services so that people are met with compassion and support instead of the violence and death that occurred in this case,” she said.
While there are many services in the DTES that provide mental health and crisis supports, Wilson says police need to be able to call in the “proper people” to handle situations of crisis and not escalate and cause further violence and “harm towards our people.”
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“I just don’t understand why they’re not being connected, because I because the police try to handle everything themselves. They’re not trained to and obviously, in this case, it was not done in a good way and ended in our deaths. … They’re not equipped [to respond].”
Wilson is also calling on Vancouver police Chief Constable Adam Palmer to hold a circle right away, to be able to talk and debrief about what happened, and come up with solutions so “it doesn’t occur tomorrow, or next week, or the month after, it’s happening too many times.”
“We can’t work at this in isolated silos,” Wilson said. “This kind of loss affects us all. Too many times it’s happened to our women, our girls, and our gender-diverse people. And now, our grandfathers. It needs to end and we need to have more collective work done.”
In a statement earlier this week, Vancouver police described a beanbag gun as a “safe and less lethal tool.”
“A bean bag shotgun is a tool that’s carried by specially trained and experienced officers. It’s used generally as an intermediate weapon when people are non-compliant and displaying some sort of violent behaviour, when it’s really inappropriate to use a lower level of force, when verbal commands aren’t appropriate or have failed and when lower levels of force are not appropriate,” Sgt. Steve Addison said Monday.
In a statement released through Atira Women’s Resource Society Thursday, Amyotte’s family says it is devastated by the loss “of our father, grandfather, husband, brother, and uncle.”
“Words cannot describe our pain, and our confusion. Whatever happened on the morning of August 22nd, Chris did not deserve to die. We expect a thorough and fair investigation, and we expect answers from the Vancouver Police Department.
“As a First Nations man, this is not the first time Chris has been harmed by a police force. We also demand justice for Chris and for all Indigenous and Black people who are overrepresented in fatal police encounters across this country called Canada,” the family wrote.
“We love you, Chris. It hurts just to breathe, knowing you are not here with us. We promise you justice.”
Vancouver Police Department did not respond to CityNews request for comment Friday. The IIO is now investigating Amyotte’s death in custody.
