Police shooting inquest calls for increased training

Police should be subject to increased mandatory training in dealing with mentally ill people, the jury at a Vancouver coroner's inquest into a fatal police shooting recommends.

The inquest had been examining the death of Paul Boyd on Aug. 13, 2007.

Boyd, 39, suffered from bipolar disorder, which can cause sudden, extreme mood swings and states of psychosis.

Police were called after a report of an assault on Granville Street near West 16th Avenue, and found Boyd wielding a bicycle chain with a padlock attached to it.

Police testified he attacked a police officer with the weapon.

Police officer David Chipperfield then fired nine shots at Boyd, hitting him eight times.

The jury, which came back from deliberations Friday evening, also recommended:

•  Creation of a 24-hour walk-in clinic in Vancouver for people with mental illness.
• That the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority build a computer database to share with police about people with mental illness.
• That "intermediate," non-lethal weapons be available made to all police officers.

Some witnesses reported  Boyd was on all fours when the final shots were fired, prompting Boyd's father to accuse police of ending the man's life unnecessarily.

"[The witnesses] had no axe to grind. They had nothing to defend," said Boyd. "It was clear my son was shot in the head when he was on his hands and knees."

Chipperfield testified at the inquest that he fired a shot at Boyd's head when he failed to see any blood from the previous shots and thought Boyd was wearing body armour.

He was not armed with a Taser at the time of the incident, Chipperfield said.

A police investigation concluded in 2009 that Chipperfield would not face charges in connection with the shooting.