Wow. The early reports sound horrible. Hopefully they can figure out just what happened and take the proper action.

Wow… I expect that kind of thing in downtown DC, but not in Vancouver.

What the CBC news story didn’t tell you is what allegedly happened before the suspect was shot.

Police responded to a call about a street fight. The man who was shot was allegedly swinging a motorcycle chain in the air, which apparently had a lock on the end of it. Apparently he and another fellow were beating up a third person.

This is what is being reported on the news:

Three police initially attended the scene. One officer was hit in the head with the chain and was rendered unconscious. He required hospitaliation and stitches. A second police officer was hit in the head with the chain and also required stitches. The third officer opened fire and killed the suspect.

There have been different eyewitness acoounts as to what happened. One person stated the suspect had his hands in the air when shot. Another said the suspect was still on the attack when shot. A third says the suspect was on his knees when he was shot. Then you have the details, some different, as reported in the CBC story.

I live in greater Vancouver and listen to an all news/talk radio show at work. The details being reported indicate the suspect was involved in an altercation, injured two officers and was shot and killed by the third.

Floyd…no disresepct intended, but what do you mean when you say “they can…take the proper action.” Are you inferring the police were in the wrong? I think we need to wait until the investigations are complete before we pass judgement on anyone - the suspect or the police.

For those criticial of the police actions, put yourself in their shoes. What would you have done if you saw two fellow officers go down, hit by a chain swinging assailant and you were the third officer? Pepper spray can be ineffective and the officers were not armed with tasers.

I wasn’t there so I can’t say with any authority what actually happened, but if I saw two officers go down and my life was threatened, I would have drawn my sidearm as well.

Brent…Vancouver is a pretty peaceful place. It’s not like these things happen all the time. They don’t. Vancouver’s homicide rate runs at between 35-40 per year and it is Canada’s third largest city. There is a bigger problem with property crime and drugs in the downtown eastside than there is with grievous assaults.

The thing I disagree with is that the police are conducting their own investigation. What needs to happen is for an outside police force to come in and conduct the investigation.

Let’s wait until the invstigations are complete before we pass judgement on either the victim or the police. This is a very sad situation for both the injured police officers, the shooter and the dead man. No one wins.

Totally sad. Will be reading to find out more.

Did he have family?

shocking.

Just added it to digg.

DisneyDave- Floyd didn’t say anything negative towards either party. Proper action would be bringing no charges against the officers, if cleared upon investigation, or charging them if there is evidence they overreacted. Here in the USA, incidents like this are investigated immediately, in many cases by an indepedent investigation team, so to be transparent and leave no doubt to what really happened, on the law side and on the civilian side. So I think you could have jumped to the wrong conclusion of Floyd’s statement, which, ironically, is what you are accusing Floyd of–
DisneyDave said-
“Let’s wait until the invstigations are complete before we pass judgement on either the victim or the police. This is a very sad situation for both the injured police officers, the shooter and the dead man. No one wins.”
Good advice, but I believe it may be just as helpful to you as the person you intended it for.

wow dude, please…
lets show some respect.
no one needs to pass any judgement,
whatever people want to claim is irrelevant to the fact that one of our own has passed.
he was seriously one of the sweetest, friendly, kind hearted people i can think of.
a hard worker and a great great guy.
its an epic tragedy.
my heart goes out.

Point Taken Bill.

I have also started receiving hate emails in my inbox implying that I felt through the words expressed in my post, that Mr. Boyd “got what he deserved,” in the words of a friend of Mr. Boyds. That’s far from the truth. Nobody deserves to die such a violent death. I wasn’t defending the police actions in my post. I wasn’t there. I just wrote the facts in my post as they have been presented in the news.

As I stated in my last paragraph of my original post, no one wins in this type of tragic situation…the polce officers who were injured, the police officer who did the shooting who has to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life and the deceased man and his family and friends.

Paul was liked and respected in Vancouver.
He was bright, and always capable of listening to reason.
It’s a tragic unnecessary loss.

Just to clarify, when I said “Hopefully they can figure out just what happened and take the proper action”, I meant that I hope they can figure out what happened, and then (once they know what happened) take whatever action they think is the right one.

The only people who know what happened for sure are the people who were there. It sounds like a horrible incident regardless.

Seriously - whatever the reason this horrible thing happened, the question remains: Did the guy have a family and if he did, can we do something as a community to help?

An article I read referred to family wanting his name kept from the public.

“Police said they had identified the 39-year-old dead man, but would not release his name at his family’s request.”
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=206c80a7-b749-4f47-bf20-003f97e5b743

It sounds as though they would like a little less attention. Regardless our thoughts must go out to them.

Stories like this always raise the same question for me:

Why can’t cops shoot to disable?

A bulllet through the kneecap will end the swinging chain real quick. Or even just a solid shot to the leg will take anyone down.

>Why can’t cops shoot to disable?

It’s probably not easy to fire a gun with such accuracy at night and under pressure. A cop may well be attempting to shoot to disable, but could end up doing more damage than intended; when bullets go flying they can do weird things; ricochet, split, change direction, etc.

Movies tend to give us all the impression that every cop is a sharpshooter with perfect aim. But I’d bet 90% of the time when a cop has to draw his weapon under pressure he’s shooting with very little idea of exactly where on the target his bullet will wind up.

The last thing we should do is turn on one another– DisneyDave doesn’t deserve hatemail, Floyd defined that he meant a fair investigation. I can see how DisneyDave could misread Floyd’s comments, I’ve taken things the wrong way MANY times.
This is a tragedy- period. Death of a loved one, friend or family member is one of the most difficult things we have to deal with in this life. My Dad died in my arms exactly 2 years ago, today. (I wrote about it in the comments section to Chris Robinson’s first column here on the Brew, if you wish to know more)It was from natural causes, but it would have been no less traumatic under any other circumstances. Whatever really happened, it ended with the death of a talented person. Put our differences aside, and let’s put our thoughts in a better non-judgemental place– If you sent harsh remarks to DisneyDave, send him some nicer ones. Love your folks, friends and neighbors, in the end, it’s all we’ve got.

Today’s Province newspaper here in Vancouver says that Paul Boyd was struggling with bi-polar disorder and his friends reported him as going through some anxiety in his final days.

Colleague and friend Bruce Alcock and all others who knew him said he was not a violent person and a very talented artist. It’s a very tragic loss, so our prayers should go out to the local animation community and all who knew him.

Thanks Bill…there were just two of them. I can see how some mistook my original post and if I offended anyone I apologize for that.

Here is the latest story, which appeared in today’s Vancouver Province newspaper:

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/story.html?id=9f41a0cd-c6f7-4c7b-bbf0-6483fbf25855&k=67013

So very sad…I had the pleasure to work with Paul for about 3 years. He was a big sweetheart and always kind to me. One of those great guys that you always remember fondly regardless of your interactions. Illness or not, it breaks my heart to know how awful his last moments were and I grieve for the loss and hope his family can heal in time. The animation industry and the world in general lost a good guy.

I encourage folks to read the link to the story DisneyDave left, it gives insight into the incident. His friends had been trying to help him earlier in the day as he was dealing with a huge down cycle in his bi-polar disorder. They said he was incoherent that afternoon, and rode a bike which is why he had a bicycle chain, that he was acused of beating two officers with when confronted. Bi-Polar disorder is capable of making a person act out this way, at its worst. It doesn’t seem even his friends believe the police were at fault- they’re just sad that such a talent met such a tragic end. We hear of horrible events here in the States where police use excessive force, so I understand suspicious minds, but it looks like, to me anyway, that the suspicion isn’t warranted here, but we’ll know more when the investigation is wrapped up. My sympathies go out to Paul Boyd’s friends and family.

“>Why can’t cops shoot to disable?”

my uncle was a police officer in nyc for over 20 years. the one thing he told me that i’ll never forget is, “when you draw your gun, you dont do it to threaten someone, you shoot to kill”

when you’re defending yourself against a potentially lethal opponent and reasoning is out the window, sometimes lethal force is necessary. in those situations theres very little time to think and act, split second assessments are necessary. if u saw your partners go down what would you have done? police take thier jobs very seriously and wouldn’t (and certainly shouldn’t) have thier guns out unless it’s absolutely necessary.

This is very sad news indeed. I can attest to Paul’s talent as he did some wonderful hand-drawn animation as a contractor for several computer games I worked on back in the mid-90’s. I never had the chance to meet him in person, but he seemed like a great guy over the phone– and his work spoke for itself. If I’m not mistaken– he boarded and almost single-handedly animated the title sequence for Ed, Edd and Eddy– great stuff. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

The cops didn’t have pepper spray? They didn’t have tasers? Three cops couldn’t take down one guy without lethal force? Please.

And this… “when a cop has to draw his weapon under pressure he’s shooting with very little idea of exactly where on the target his bullet will wind up.”

…may be the most insane thing I have ever read. If you are that unsure as to how to control yourself and your firearm you bloody well shouldn’t be carrying. And if you aren’t capable of rational thought in stressful situations you shouldn’t even be allowed to carry.

In any regard, this is terribly sad and a horrible loss of talent.

Steve:

Police officers are trained to shoot at center mass, ie, the torso, because it is a large area with a good chance of killing the target. There really isn’t a better way to train, since the training is intended for the officer when he is being attacked by someone with lethal force; fast response is more important than aiming in these cases, hence the taught technique. Thus when something like this happens there is a long drawn out investigation to determine whether or not the shooting was justified.

The officer SHOULD have been armed with a taser, but with all the naysayers complaining about tasers being too dangerous, maybe the agency he was with went against them for lawsuit protection (which is asinine). If he had one, he made a judgement call and pulled his pistol instead. That is what the investigation will determine.

Unfortunately ( at least in the States), all too often cops are handled with kid gloves when it comes to shootings. Remember Rodney King and the various shootings in NYC over the last five years, where the cops mostly got a slap on the wrist. It’s just a bad scene overall.

paul did do the opening of ed and ed and eddy. the trio pass a video camera back and forth between them in the bit. this was done the old fashioned way - he had to plan all the camera moves himself, measure them out, dope it … his capacity for presice, almost mathematical animation was mind boggling.

i was his assistant a few times. his command of cycles and levels and how everything worked together - amazing. he did some funny bits of animation ill never forget too - like a part in werner 2 where a gas cylinder turns into a missle and wangs around the screen …he was very talented and very friendly. i know he had a capacity for rage - eight bullets to put him down, what does that tell you ? but i never saw it.

ill remember him fondly and not as a guy swinging a chain, getting shot by a cop with less than five years experience on the job. his last moments must have been pure anguish but he would have gone to jail and that would have been painful for him, also.

ill miss my friend paul boyd.

My heart goes out to his family and friends. Last year our son was in a psychotic state and was brandishing a knife. He too is a big man and generally very sweet and gentle. He was in a fearful state and felt under attack. I thank god that the police who responded at the time had tasers. There also is an amazing program called car 87 that sends out a psychiatric nurse as well as a police officer to deal with emergency mental health issues at night. I wish they were funded for 24 hr a day though. From the sound of this story though it is just a HUGE tradgedy for all involved. May there be a greater understanding for all of us who are quick to judge.

PAUL WAS A TRUE ANIMATOR. THIS IS A GREAT LOSS TO THE ANIMATION COMMUNITY. HIS TALENT AND PASSION WILL BE MISSED DEARLY.

I had the privilege of not only being educated by Paul at Vancouver Film School ten years ago(he was our first semester classical animation teacher for the CG animation course) but also working with Paul on the “Mr. Hell Show”. He was always helpful and he was willing to stand up for me in the early days of my employment when the episode director was trashing me for not being up to speed and talent. Paul gave me the benefit of time to improve and gain experience which touched me since the animation industry can be very cutthroat and unforgiving. He had a hearty and infectious laugh, boyish traits, but was a clear professional when things needed to get done. Yeah, he was a big guy when standing next to him but you’d never feel intimidated. His opinion was always respected by the other senior animators and directors who were of some renown working together on the MR. HELL SHOW (Moose Pagan, Andy Bartlet… etc.)

I don’t care what the circumstances of his death were! I only feel empty knowing another good person is gone. But he won’t be forgotten.

I have to say, this thread is one of the most amazing streams of thought and thoughtfulness I’ve ever witnessed in any literary format.

DANNY, Tim, dany, Ted and LP, thank you for taking the time to tell us your firsthand accounts of his talents, good heart, and passion. Mary, thank you for telling us your son’s story. I’ve cried my eyes out through most of these posts, and know I’ve been truly moved and changed from them. Paul, I hope you are at peace now, free of the pain you never asked for, but had to endure in this life.

Paul…you are missed. Be at Peace -J-

Paul was a talented artist and animator, he always strived to improve the quality of a production. I am honoured to have worked along side him, his creativity and humour were inspiring. He will be greatly missed.

Paul was a great teacher and a sweet man. As an instructor at VFS, he was encouraging, inspiring and above all, engaging. When I realized that the man who had been shot on Granville Street was Paul, I was having breakfast at a restaurant in Pemberton flipping through a back issue of The Province. I was greatly saddened, more so when I considered how powerfully this gentle man’s mind had betrayed him.

A few weeks ago listening to cbc I heard an account of the incident by someone sitting on a bus. I found it disturbing but never caught more on the story so did a search and among the articles found this forum.It is such a tragic and disturbing story. A well liked talented member of our community has a bipolar episode and ends up shot by police.

It seems like a big bad mistake. How could this happen in Vancouver in 2007? Are the officers, ( for whom I respect ) not given more tools to deal with situations like this? I would think that it is not uncommon for police to have to deal with mental illeness and rage. They might be trained to do more than draw a gun. Pepper spray may not always be effective but it seems a better way to approach someone in a rage. Guns are for killing not for dealing with a situation like this on a busy city street. I also feel for the officer who in his fear felt his this weapon was his only option.

I hope this tragedy brings more consideration in training and suport in less violent methods of subduing people who have lost control.

The system is designed to ’set-people-up-like-this’, sure the guy could’ve been intoxicated, as not what was listed by the likes of the m.s.m.- but for the average person who is classified ‘insane’, by the ‘Legal Standards of the Canadian Justice System’, gives them that more right, before or unknowingly to act out those commands- you find that not everyone of those involved in ‘playing cop’ is actually out there to harm people, the ‘excessive nature’, to which this person, was ‘fundamentally’ killed by trained officers, in return to the amount of time spent as police on-duty, (from what I gathered at the time) was at least 1 rookie police officer.
Not much, going on, ‘cept for his rent I suppose??
Who can really say, those did, or did not have something to prove, on street level, amongst their peers- only what I could say, shortly there-after, this evening, the, then, Chief of Vancouver Police ‘Jamie Graham’, retired, in wake of Paul Boyd’s death, amongst the other 8 people who were shot within the same time frame, clouding and disensitionalization of main stream media reporting- what would be your average, normal quiet day in Vancouver…
Ho-hum?

Not so….

The System/Law Society works against ALL. (ever despite the ‘Pilot Project’s’ of Police who ARE supposed to be called to the scene of those suspected of being mentally ill- buddy didn’t appear to be a ‘ stylized drug addict’) So, in the face the judiciary processes of their insane crimes, no-matter, if they were set-up/framed to be the people the Police perceived they were- when ‘The Law’ intervined, following up to the aftermath of pecuniary measures, brought upon by the ‘The Law’, who decided, in the after-affect, to changing those
‘Laws’ to match their own politically, appointed roles…

All the way down the line…. The guy was only in possession of a bicycle lock.

I’ve heard of this happening, before, in the context, of a police officer being approached with someone welding a pipe…

A six foot 4 inch Officer, against a 5”3′ (short guy with a 2 ft. peace of piping) but that didn’t stop a Rookie Constable from racing across town on a quiet peaceful Sunday, in front of a Church, in front of women and childre to prove himself the hero, now did it..?

Ed, Edd and Eddy will never be the same again without Paul Boyd! :(

I don’t know the dude but I already show respect for him. I know I already commented before but wanted to say I love art and cartoons so much, I actually am an artist myself, I’m only well known and popular in Luton, Bedfordshire, England though, I’m an amatuer but have always done comics, sketches, stories ect. and Ed, Edd & Eddy was always an all time favorite show, I only just found out yesterday [when I commented] that he died by watching an episode from last year that he died, a message came up when the episode finished saying “Paul Boyd we miss you” my heart just stopped and I felt really guttered and had to search about his death and find answers, he’s a legend and will always be respected. Paul? Even though you’re dead, I already show love for your work already pal, so sorry you had to go so soon =[ must really sucked ass what you had to go through dude, you’re not alone with real bad depression, I’m a suffering artist too, I feel for you