More training needed following police shooting: advocates

Investigators at the scene after Christopher Ray was shot by police on Monday. October 31, 2012. (CTV)

The shooting death of a Vancouver man has highlighted once again how police are trained to deal with those suffering from addictions and mental illnesses.

Christopher Ray, 52, was gunned down by a Vancouver police officer on Monday after police responded to a call about windows being smashed in an East Vancouver home. The officer shot Ray after he allegedly pulled out a knife.

The Independent Investigations Office is now investigating the case to determine whether the shooting was justified.

Rhonda Hunter, one of Ray’s friends, says she was shocked by the news.

“I can’t quite comprehend how someone so gentle could have met such a violent death,” she said.

Ray’s friends are questioning how police dealt with the situation on Monday. They told CTV News that he had never seemed violent. However, he had spent time in prison for assault, and witnesses reported seeing him agitated and aggressive the night of the shooting.

Ray's friends say he did suffer from depression and drug addiction, and that he could have relapsed that night.

Mark Townsend, with the PHS Community Service Society in Vancouver, said Monday’s tragedy is a familiar story.

“The factor in these things is always mental health and addictions and the struggles people face with those that lead them into these difficult and sad situations,” he said.

Townsend says police need to be better educated on how to deal with those with mental health or addiction issues.

“More can be done in terms of training,” he said. “The police often in these situations are scared and they find it hard to admit they’re scared, and they react from a place of fear.”

Vancouver police officers must now receive mandatory training in crisis intervention. The move followed an inquest that looked into the death of Paul Boyd, who was shot several times by police following an altercation in 2007. An inquest into the death of Michael Vann Hubbard, who was shot by police last March, also recommended further police training.

With files from CTV British Columbia’s Scott Roberts