Fatal shooting of knife-wielding person in crisis by North Vancouver RCMP was justified, IIO finds

An oversight agency has concluded that the police shooting of a non-binary activist in North Vancouver last fall was justified, a decision that has been met with frustration by friends and family of the deceased.

Dani Cooper was shot and killed by a North Vancouver RCMP officer on Nov. 12, 2022. The 27-year-old organizer, writer and poet used they/them pronouns.

Police were called to the apartment complex where Cooper lived in the 3700 block of Hamber Place to respond to multiple 911 calls about a person with a knife who was behaving erratically and had entered multiple apartments in the building.

THE IIO'S NARRATIVE

In his final report on the matter, Ronald J. MacDonald, the chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., shares a detailed narrative of what transpired that night. 

The report, which was published Wednesday, indicates that the incident began in Cooper's apartment.

As with all IIO reports, no names are used. Cooper is referred to throughout as the "affected person" or "AP."

The first 911 call came in at 7:32 p.m., according to MacDonald's narrative. The caller – referred to as "civilian witness 1" or "CW1" – lived with Cooper.

"CW1 told the 911 call taker that AP was psychotic and was suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues," the report reads. "CW1 said she was able to wrestle a knife from AP and fended off AP by kicking her legs and protecting herself as AP tried to stab her in the neck."

According to the report, CW1 fled and sought shelter in a nearby unit and told the call-taker that Cooper had grabbed a second knife.

MacDonald goes on to describe Cooper entering two other units in the building and brandishing the knife at residents, though civilian witnesses interviewed described their demeanor as "blank" and "confused," rather than aggressive or menacing.

Still, these witnesses came away from the interactions with the impression that Cooper intended to stab them, according to the report.

The first police officers arrived at the scene at 7:44 p.m. At that time, the report notes, Cooper was outside one of the homes they had entered. They had been banging on the glazed patio door, but stopped doing so, according to a witness who was inside. That witness reported seeing them stab themself multiple times in the abdomen.

The responding officers spoke to Cooper, telling them to drop the knife, but told the IIO that Cooper did not seem to be registering what the officers were saying.

Instead, officers and witnesses described Cooper slowly advancing toward the police, with a knife in their hand.

One of the officers shot Cooper twice with a conducted energy weapon – better known as a Taser – but neither time was successful.

Ten seconds after the second Taser shot, an officer fired two gunshots at Cooper, which killed them, according to the IIO report.

THE FAMILY'S CONCERNS

MacDonald's narrative does not note how much time elapsed between the arrival of police at the scene and the fatal shooting.

In a statement shared by Pivot Legal Society Wednesday, the family says it was less than two minutes, and asserts that "virtually no de-escalation efforts were made" before the first use of force.

The family says MacDonald's report mischaracterizes Cooper as a threat, when the only person they injured during the incident was themself.

"Dani was so little of a threat that I could have just run up to them and wrapped my arms around them," says Cara Cooper, Dani's younger sister, in the statement.

"It would not have been hard: they were so small and frail, even the 911 callers thought they were a teenager. There were so many ways that they could have been stopped, without fatal force. While police attending these calls don’t have complete information, they knew this was a small person acting erratically – that much was clear. They were unwell, dazed, and in psychosis – and instead of help they were killed by police."

The family is calling for improved de-escalation training and Pivot is "amplifying" two demands put forward by the social justice committee of the Vancouver Unitarian Universalist congregation, of which Cooper was a member.

Those demands are that the province "create and appropriately fund a continuum of response to mental health, addictions and other complex social issues with a focus on prevention and community-led responses and ensuring appropriate first response."

And that the province "establish a single, independent, civilian-led oversight agency responsible for overseeing conduct, complaints, investigations, and disciplinary matters for all police and public safety personnel with powers or authority under the new Community Safety and Policing Act."

THE IIO'S CONCLUSION

MacDonald responds to some of the issues raised by Pivot and Cooper's family in his report.

"Some might point to the relatively small stature of AP to suggest this reduced the threat facing police," he writes.

"While size of the person holding a knife is a factor for consideration, my experience investigating these types of cases has shown that lethal or near-lethal wounds can be caused by any able person, no matter the size, and regardless of the protective vest being worn by an officer."

He notes that Cooper had tried to stab another person and showed "a real intent" to stab an officer.

After attempts to use a Taser failed, "the only other option available was to approach AP in close range and use hands or perhaps a baton to apprehend AP," the report reads.

"This action would have brought (officers) within the range of a person who clearly was intending to stab them. It was certainly reasonable for them not to exercise that option, given their safety concerns."

MacDonald's report also acknowledges that Cooper was "clearly suffering from a mental health crisis" and had "a variety of opioids in their bloodstream," but concludes that officers could only assess them based on the information that had been provided in the case, "which was that AP had attempted to stab someone and threatened two others with a knife."

"It cannot be said that the use of force by (the subject officer) was unreasonable in the circumstances," the report reads.