A Vancouver police officer who shot and killed a homeless man brandishing a knife earlier this year has been cleared of any wrong-doing.
Abbotsford police released the results of their nine-month investigation into the death of Michael Vann Hubbard, 58, yesterday - stating that the officer was at risk and was justified to use lethal force.
Vann Hubbard was sitting at a bus stop in the 700 block of Granville Street March 20 when two police officers questioned him in relation to a theft in the area, mistaking him for a suspect.
A video of the incident, also released yesterday, shows the three interacting for nearly two minutes before Vann Hubbard - who was mentally ill - started stumbling towards the officers with a blade in hand.
After backing up half a block, one of the officers fired a single shot. And while the video clearly depicts the incident, two very different interpretations have surfaced from groups often at odds with one another.
"Our officer acted in the defense of her own life and the safety of the public," said VPD Chief Jim Chu yesterday afternoon, before launching an attack on civil liberty associations and the media for running allegations that officers deleted video of the incident off a cell phone. The allegations turned out to be false, and Adam Smolcic is facing a public mischief charge - the only legal action taken by Abbotsford police following their investigation.
An hour earlier though, the Pivot Legal Society held their own press conference, accusing the officers of resorting to deadly force too quickly.
"He's not a threat, he can barely walk," said Allan Chad while taking media through the video.
Chad claims he trained several VPD officers in the '90s, but Chu said the department never employed him.
Pivot's executive director John Richardson said the incident raises serious issues, including how police deal with the homeless and mentally ill.
