There is a disturbing new development in the already controversial case of a homeless man who was shot and killed last week by Vancouver police
Michael Vann Hubbard was stopped by police because he was carrying a black backpack similar to one stolen from a vehicle downtown.
The 58-year-old reacted to the confrontation on Homer Street on Friday by pulling out an X-Acto knife and was shot dead by an officer.
"I've talked to his daughter who is in Illinois. The family is grieving," said David Eby of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. "The bag with Mr. Vann Hubbard was not stolen property. It was not the black bag that was stolen from the car."
Eby said Vann Hubbard's daughter was told this by police.
Vann Hubbard, said Eby, was fondly remembered by his family.
"As far as his daughter's recollections of him, he's a very gentle person with no addictions issues except for possibly alcohol. He was homeless, he was living on the streets," he said.
"He had a box cutter in his bag and it's not unusual when police question people to ask if they have any 'sharps' on them. Perhaps he was pre-empting the question or perhaps a question was asked. There are a lot of questions that remain."
The Vancouver Police Department referred all questions on the case to the Abbotsford police who are handling the investigation, who confirmed that Vann Hubbard was not linked to the theft.
Meanwhile, a witness who claimed that he had filmed the incident but had had it erased by another police officer at the scene said he is still waiting for a company to successfully retrieve the video from his cell phone.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson.
