Family calls for inquest into death of Indigenous father shot by VPD with beanbag gun

Sep 1 2022, 8:45 pm

The family of an Indigenous father who died after Vancouver police shot him with a beanbag gun last month is calling for an inquest into his death.

Christopher Amyotte’s family is seeking accountability from the Vancouver Police Department, and wants the force to make “transformative police changes” to address how officers treat Indigenous people in the Downtown Eastside.

chris amyotte with kids

Chris Amyotte with his family. (Samantha Wilson/Submitted)

“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 in a vulnerable part of the city — and that no one would care about him if something bad happened to him,” Samantha Wilson said during a news conference in Vancouver.

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

The family has set up a GoFundMe to raise money to bring Amyotte’s body back to Manitoba, cover legal fees, and commission a private autopsy report.

The 42-year-old from Winnipeg was a member of Rolling River First Nation. He was a father of seven who loved his partner, Amanda, and was in Vancouver to visit his daughter who’s starting school in September.

But around 8 am on August 22, Amyotte was caught in a Downtown Eastside bear spray attack that wasn’t meant for him, his family said. He took off his clothes and doused himself first with water and then milk to stop the burning.

He was naked and calling for help when an officer shot him with beanbag rounds, his family and witnesses say. After that, he went into medical distress and died.

Vancouver police have said they responded to the scene where a man was acting “erratically” near Hastings Street and Dunlevy Avenue.

The force did not answer Daily Hive’s questions about whether or not officers discharged a weapon.

“The man was taken into custody. He then went into medical distress and lost consciousness,” the VPD said in a statement.

Wilson addressed the VPD’s communications officer directly at the news conference, asking for an explanation as to why Const. Steve Addison was “dishonest” with media outlets — not saying that Amyotte was asking for help.

“Where I’m from, when someone asks for help we help them,” Wilson said. “I don’t think it’s in anyone’s family values to treat people the way that Chris was treated that morning.”

Wilson also expressed she’s disappointed with the lack of contact from the VPD and the Independent Investigations Office, which handles all police-involved killings in BC.

The IIO tells Daily Hive its primary investigator and affected persons liaison have spoken directly with several members of Amyotte’s family on the day of his death and subsequently.

“Take this as my plea to hold the officers accountable. To remember that when we leave this physical realm our final resting spots are the same depth … that no man is better than the other and no man is more deserving of compassion and empathy than the other.”

Editor’s note: This article was updated on September 2 to include the IIO’s comment. 

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