'A true trailblazer': Filmmaker killed in Surrey was anti-gang advocate

A man killed during an alleged altercation between neighbours in Surrey, B.C., is being remembered as a fierce anti-gang advocate.

RCMP officers found Manbir "Mani" Amar in medical distress after responding to a report of a physical altercation in the city's Newton neighbourhood Wednesday afternoon.

The 40-year-old died shortly after, despite the efforts of emergency crews to provide first aid.

Friends said Amar was a single father of three, and a compassionate man who touched the lives of countless others. His sudden death left many stunned.

"I did not see this coming, I don't think anybody did. We're all devastated,” Kal Dosanjh told CTV News.

Dosanjh, a police officer, met and befriended Amar through his advocacy work, and said he had a passion for steering kids away from gang life.

"I think he was a real pioneer, a true trailblazer,“ said Dosanjh.

“He was one of the first to start truly addressing the issues of why more and more South Asian youth are entering the drug and gang life."

It was that passion that pushed Amar into making films like “Footsteps into Gangland” a closer look at issues like sexual violence, gang violence and drugs.

"I believe in my heart I'm doing it for the right reasons I wouldn't be putting myself in debt and putting my life on the line if I wasn't,” Amar said in an interview with CTV News back in March of 2011.

Others he crossed paths with agree.

"He was creative and humble,” said Kash Heed, former West Vancouver police chief and B.C. solicitor general.

Amar interviewed Heed for a film 14 years ago.

"He knew many of the people that we were dealing with, many of the people who were ending up dead in Metro Vancouver. He went to school with many of them, it affected him as much as it affected a lot of other people,” Heed told CTV News.

In a statement provided by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, the victim's brother, Gurbinder Amar, remembered him as a "talented individual who devoted his life to activism and the arts."

“Through poetry, prose, philosophy, painting, photography and filmmaking, Mani touched the lives of many individuals. He will be deeply missed," he said.

Authorities have not provided any details about the nature of the altercation, but IHIT described it as an "isolated incident."

Officers arrested a suspect at the scene, but said he has since been released from custody as the investigation continues.

Police asked anyone with information on the altercation to call the IHIT tip line at 1-877-551-4448 or email [e-mail].