It’s only been a few days since grieving parents Al Wright and Linda Bush began a support group for victims of alleged police violence in B.C., but membership has already doubled.

Wright, whose son Alvin Wright was shot and killed by Langley RCMP in 2010 said the goal is to provide support and advice for people who have been physically hurt by police themselves or had family members hurt.

Wright has joined forces with Bush, mother of Ian Bush, the 22-year-old shot to death inside the Houston RCMP detachment in 2005.

The mother of Robert Dziekanski has also joined his organization, Wright confirmed. Zofia Cisowki is the third parent of someone killed by police in B.C. to sign on.

Dziekanski died after being hit with RCMP tasers at Vancouver International Airport in 2007.

Another man named Bill Gillespie, who survived after being shot by officers, has also joined.

Wright said many families who have relatives who were injured or killed by police have a hard time trusting officials.

“The investigating police actually treat the family like suspects,” he said.

“We’ll be there to assist them (the families).”

He said, among other things, the group will advise people on finding legal representation and how to deal with police.

A hand will also be extended to female officers who have filed sexual harassment complaints against the RCMP, he said.

“It’s about victims and helping people,” he said. “Through all this with my son being killed, I’ve got a lot of support.”

Wright’s son Alvin was shot by Mounties after they arrived at his home to investigate a domestic dispute.

Police said the 22-year-old came at them with a knife and hatchet when officers entered his bedroom.

A coroner’s jury made several recommendations in the case, including that police should clearly announce their presence. 

David Eby of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association said such recommendations have been ignored in the past and said the formation of the group “doesn’t say much” about how such incidents are dealt with by authorities.

“At some point it’s up to the families directly affected to tell the province, ‘you need to be concerned about this,’” said Eby, pointing out B.C. has the highest amount of in-custody deaths in Canada.  

“We’re hoping that the group will focus on prevention, in particular what we’d like is for police to release by detachment and by department information on deaths, so we can find out what detachments are doing it right.”

Another Vancouver group is considering creating a similar support network.

Jennifer Allan of Vancouver Cop Watch, a group that films officers on patrol without them knowing, said she recently spoke to the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users about the idea.

She said those living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside are often the victims of physical and mental abuse by police.

Meanwhile, Wright said along with lobbying the government for change, his group will openly pressure it.

“We’ll be doing rallies, being at court hearings, coroner’s inquests and things of that nature,” he said.

He insisted the idea of the organization is not to facilitate hatred of the RCMP or work out his own demons.

“It’s the opposite of therapeutic,” he said.

“I have to relive it all the time, for me it’s about the next people and caring about the next people.”