I cautioned against the term execution, as it doesn't appear in the article, but for my money, that's what it is.
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New video of a fatal shooting by a Vancouver police officer nearly five years ago is provoking calls to reopen the investigation into whether it was justified.
The video shows the last moments of Paul Boyd, a 39-year-old mentally ill animator, who died after an altercation with Vancouver police in August 2007.
Boyd can be seen on his hands and knees on Granville Street, moving toward Const. Lee Chipperfield, who is pointing a gun.
The view is briefly obscured when Boyd crawls in front of a car, and Chipperfield fires the last of nine shots at him. The fatal bullet struck Boyd in the head.
The disturbing video is the only one known to be recorded of the incident.
It was captured by Andreas Bergen, a tourist from Winnipeg, who was visiting Vancouver with friends. At the time, Bergen didn't think his shaky, dimly lit video was valuable because there were dozens of witnesses closer to the scene than he was.
But in March of this year, B.C.'s police complaint commissioner issued a report, concluding there wasn't "clear, convincing and cogent evidence … that Chipperfield used unnecessary force or excessive force during his incident."
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"I think that's the question people should be asking themselves when they look at this video and see a man who's disarmed, crawling on the road," Eby said after viewing the sequence.
There is a lull of 23 seconds between the eighth and ninth shots, during which time another officer managed to grab the bike chain Boyd had been wielding.
B.C.'s Criminal Justice Branch said after Boyd was killed, a pair of Vise-Grip pliers was found in his pocket.
But Eby said the video makes it clear to him that Boyd posed no threat to anyone before the final shot.
"I say a police officer needs to look at a scenario where someone is disarmed and crawling on the road, and say, 'I'm not gonna shoot this person in the head.' I would like them to make that call."
Eby wants B.C. police complaint commissioner Stan Lowe to take another look at the case.
Lowe told CBC News that the video "appears to be a very important piece of evidence … I think probably the Criminal Justice Branch would be very interested in having a view."
The Vancouver Police Department turned down an invitation to see the video and declined to comment on whether it's significant.
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I could have sworn there was discussion of this on here when it happened, but I can't seem to locate it.
Haven't seen the video, the description is disgusting.
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Originally Posted by chemgear
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