Family of Indigenous dad who died after being shot by beanbag gun sues VPD

Chris Amyotte’s family is suing the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Police Department after their loved one died when officers shot him with a beanbag gun.

Amyotte was 42 and left behind his partner and seven children. He lived in Winnipeg but was in Vancouver to visit one of his children who was starting school, his family said.

Amyotte’s cousin Samantha Wilson shared the lawsuit update on Twitter Tuesday.

The City of Vancouver and Vancouver Police have been notified they are being sued. Shout out to Simon Buck from Buck & Dlab Law for taking this case on. I’m attaching our family’s Go Fund Me page. Anything helps! Megwetch! ❤️
Justice for Chris Amyotte https://t.co/M8DZyj6zxx

— LoudThunderbirdWoman (@WilsonS29) October 17, 2022

Amyotte’s family has already called for an inquest into his death, and they believe “transformative changes” are needed within the police force.

“I believe 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 last month.

“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.”

Samantha Wilson, cousin of Chris Amyotte, speaks during a news conference in Vancouver on September 1, 2022. (Daily Hive Vancouver)

According to Amyotte’s family, he was caught in a pepper spray attack on the morning of August 22. They characterized the attack as random, saying Amyotte was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He ran onto the street, removed his closed, and doused himself first with water and then milk to stop the burning.

When officers arrived on scene, witnesses said Amyotte was naked and calling for help. An officer shot him with a beanbag gun, and after that Amyotte went into medical distress and died.

Vancouver police have been criticized for how they handled the incident, at first notifying the public only that Amyotte went into medical stress during an interaction with them. It was witnesses who spoke up to say police shot him.

The Independent Investigations Office of BC, which looks into all deaths and serious injuries where police are involved, is looking into the case.