Family of Indigenous man killed after VPD shooting demands inquest

The family of Chris Amyotte, the man who died on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside after being shot with a beanbag gun by Vancouver Police Department officers, is demanding an inquest into his death.

Amyotte died Aug. 22 after he went into “medical distress and lost consciousness,” according to police.

Witnesses say Amyotte had been bear sprayed and ran to Laxmi Convenience Store on East Hastings Street near Gore Avenue to get a carton of milk — often used to flush out pepper spray. Police were then called.

Amyotte’s cousin, Samantha Wilson, is now calling for the VPD to undergo “transformative police changes.”

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“I believe that given the location of this incident in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, that my cousin Chris was seen as just another vulnerable person, and a vulnerable part of the city and that no one would care about him if something bad happened to him,” Wilson said Thursday.

Wilson says her family is seeking answers.

“Unfortunately, for the Vancouver Police Department, Christopher has a family that loves him very much and we are exploring every possible avenue to seek answers for him and his children,” she said.

Amyotte’s family wants to understand what happened, Wilson said, adding there are many questions surrounding his death that have not been answered.

“Our family is beyond anger, right now. Anger is an emotion that quickly came and left, just like Chris,” Wilson said.

Vancouver police is not offering any other details at this time, as the case is now being handled by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO).

On Aug. 22, VPD Sgt. Steve Addison confirmed a “bean bag shotgun was deployed” during the incident.

“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,” he explained last month.

According to the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), Amyotte was “naked, bear-maced, and screaming for help.” VANDU claims the man was “pouring milk on himself as VPD arrived on site.”