9 dead in 18 police shootings in B.C. so far this year

The Abbotsford police shooting of a reportedly suicidal man Sunday evening brings the total number of people shot by police in British Columbia this year to 18 – with nine of those incidents being fatal.

The Abbotsford police shooting of a reportedly suicidal man Sunday evening brings the total number of people shot by police in British Columbia this year to 18 – with nine of those incidents being fatal.

"The police are, in fact, the wrong tool to respond to someone in mental health distress. When they do use force or deadly force, we often don't hear what the details are for months or even years to come,” said Benjamin Perrin, a professor at UBC’s Allard School of Law.

Perrin noted that officers suspected of wrongdoing are not required to cooperate with the province’s police watchdog, and that “very few fully do” cooperate.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. has opened 53 death investigations this calendar year to determine if the actions or inactions of police were contributing factors.

Seventeen of those investigations remain open and active, 35 have been closed with no public report, and just one has been closed with a public report.

In that case, the IIO cleared members of the Vancouver Police Department of wrongdoing after they shot and killed a man reported to be acting erratically on the Granville Street Bridge in February.

Chris Voller, a director with the National Police Federation, the union representing RCMP officers across the country, told CTV News some calls for people in mental health distress do require an armed police response.