On August 22, 2022, Chris Amyotte, Leaping Frog Man, a member of the Ditibineya-ziibiing (Rolling River) First Nation was killed by the Vancouver Police Department. This will be his family’s first holiday season without Chris. It’s only been 4 months since his death, and his family has been calling for justice since this preventable tragedy occurred.
We love you Chris. It hurts just to breathe, knowing you are not here with us. We promise you justice.
–Statement from Chris Amyotte’s Family, August 25, 2022
On behalf of Pivot Legal Society, we are asking our supporters to contribute generously to the gofundme organized by Chris’s daughter, Venus Cook.
This tragedy underscores the deep and ongoing failures by police when dealing with Indigenous people in distress. Indigenous people are ten times more likely to be shot and killed by police in Canada – and it’s time for it to stop!
–National Vice-Chief Kim Beaudin, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
News Coverage
November 2022
Video shows Vancouver police shoot man with beanbag gun
November 25, 2022 – CBC News
Vancouver police defend Downtown Eastside arrest caught on camera
November 25, 2022 – CityNews
WATCH: Vancouver police respond to viral video of officers shooting man with hands-up with bean bag guns
November 25, 2022 – West Coast Standard
The Problem with Sending Police to Mental Health Calls
November 18, 2022 – The Tyee
October 2022
Une vidéo montre Chris Amyotte avant sa mort lors d’une intervention policière à Vancouver
October 28, 2022 – Radio-Canada
Video shows lead-up to VPD shooting of Indigenous man on Downtown Eastside using bean bag gun
October 27, 2022 – CBC News
Video emerges showing VPD shoot Indigenous man with beanbag gun
October 26, 2022 – Daily Hive
Family of Indigenous dad who died after being shot by beanbag gun sues VPD
October 18, 2022 – Daily Hive
Family of Indigenous man who died after police interaction says it's suing the VPD, City
October 17, 2022 – CityNews
Calls to “Clean Up the Streets” Are Calls to Violence
October 6, 2022 – The Mainlander
September 2022
'Like a 90 mph fastball,' VPD reveal impact of beanbag shotgun
September 23, 2022 – CityNews
Justice delayed and distorted: Ontario police officers charged for killing 18-month old Jameson Shapiro
September 16, 2022 – spring magazine
Jeff Shantz: Beanbags do kill, despite what police are saying following the death of Chris Amyotte in the DTES
September 3, 2022 – The Georgia Straight
Family of man who died after Vancouver police beanbag shooting seeks inquest
September 2, 2022 – Canadian Press
After another beloved relative dies at the hands of police, calls for change amplify
September 2, 2022 – IndigiNews
Canadian Police-Involved Deaths in August 2022
September 2, 2022 – the media co-op
La famille d’un homme ojibway abattu par la police de Vancouver réclame une enquête
September 2, 2022 – CBC/Radio-Canada
Family of man shot with beanbag gun by Vancouver police calls for inquest, changes to police tactics
September 1, 2022 – CBC News
Family of man killed after Vancouver police beanbag shooting wants answers
September 1, 2022 - Vancouver is Awesome
Family of Indigenous man killed after police shooting in Vancouver demand public inquest
September 1, 2022 – Black Press Media
‘We want answers,’ says family of Ojibwa man who died after beanbag gun shooting
September 1, 2022- Global News
Family of man who died in police custody travels to Vancouver for answers
September 1, 2022 – CTV News
Family calls for inquest into death of Indigenous father shot by VPD with beanbag gun
September 1, 2022 – DH News
Family of Indigenous man killed after VPD shooting demands inquest
September 1, 2022 – CityNews
August 2022
Opinion: Vancouver's DTES funding approach is a "band-aid on a broken leg"
August 31, 2022 – Daily Hive
Bear Sprayed, Chris Amyotte Was in Agony. Then, Shot by Police
August 30, 2022 – The Tyee
Indigenous leaders call for inquiry into man's police-involved death on Downtown Eastside
August 29, 2022 – Global News
Manitoba man who died after beanbag shooting had been asking for help, Vancouver police say
August 26, 2022 – Canadian Press
Father's death brings to light 'failing' approach to crises in the DTES by police: Kash Heed
August 26, 2022 – Vancouver Sun
Unarmed and 'begging for help': Family of man shot with bean bag gun in Vancouver wants answers
August 25, 2022 – Vancouver Sun
Indigenous father of 7 identified as man who died after being shot with Vancouver police beanbag gun
August 25, 2022 - CTV News Vancouver
Man who died after Vancouver police shot him with beanbag gun was father of seven
August 25, 2022 – DH News
Family of Winnipeg man shot by Vancouver police demands accountability
August 25, 2022 – Winnipeg Free Press
Household identifies man killed in ‘interplay’ with Vancouver police as Winnipeg father
August 25, 2022 – Daily Winnipeg News
Usage de la force par la police : l’homme ojibwé décédé était en visite à Vancouver
August 25, 2022 – Radio-Canada
Family remembers Winnipeg man shot by police while visiting daughter in Vancouver
August 24, 2022 – CityNews
Man who died after being shot by police in Vancouver identified
August 24, 2022 - CBC Vancouver
Family remembers man who died in police custody in Downtown Eastside
August 24, 2022 – CityNews
Ojibway father of 8 identified as man who died after being shot by police bean bag gun in Vancouver
August 24, 2022 – CBC News
Family identifies man killed in ‘interaction’ with Vancouver police as Winnipeg father
August 23, 2022 – Global News
Statements of Support
Nurses Sound Alarm on Police Violence
September 9, 2022 – Corey Ranger, Michelle Danda and Meaghan Brown (Harm Reduction Nurses Association) via The Tyee
Beanbags do kill, despite what police are saying following the death of Chris Amyotte in the DTES
September 3, 2022 - Dr. Jeff Shantz via the Georgia Straight
UBCIC Mourns the Tragic Murder of Ojibway Father and Grandfather by the VPD; Demands Immediate Reform
August 26, 2022 – Union of BC Indian Chiefs
News: Statement from Chris Amyotte’s Family
August 25, 2022 – Amyotte family via Atira Women’s Resource Society
Death in Vancouver highlights lethality of “less lethal” weapons
August 25 2022 - Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Statement Regarding the 5th VPD Murder in 2022
August 25, 2022 – BCAPOM, BCCLA, Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War, Defund 604 Network, Justice for Jared, Our Homes Can’t Wait, PACE Society, Pivot, VANDU via Pivot Legal Society