The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice says no criminal charge will be approved against a Vancouver Police Constable in connection with the shooting death of Paul Boyd in 2007.
Independent Special Prosecutor Mark R. Jetté found “after considering all of the available evidence as presented by the investigators, including new video evidence that surfaced in May 2012, the Special Prosecutor has concluded that there is no substantial likelihood of conviction on a criminal charge. In other words, it is his assessment that the evidence is not sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting of Mr. Boyd constitutes a culpable homicide within the meaning of the Criminal Code of Canada.”
In May 2012 a video was released showing Boyd crawling across a Vancouver street before he was shot by a police officer. The video was shot by a Winnipeg tourist.
WATCH: From the archive – Paul Boyd shooting video:
Police had responded to a 911 call and were confronted by Boyd, swinging a bike chain. The officer who shot Boyd, Const. Lee Chipperfield, testified at an inquest that he thought Boyd was armed when he shot him in the head, but the video appears to show Boyd was no longer holding the chain when he was shot. He had already been injured by several police bullets as he crawled across the street, and in the video an officer can be seen bending down beside Boyd and picking up the bike chain.
A coroner’s inquest into Boyd’s death was held in December 2010 and approximately 25 witnesses testified. In June 2011 the Criminal Justice Branch confirmed that evidence called at the inquest would not result in any change to the decision that there would not be any criminal charge approved against Chipperfield.
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Following the release of the video, the Ministry of Justice asked the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team to conduct a renewed investigation into the police shooting.
In a statement from Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu he says:
A few minutes ago, I learned of the Special Prosecutor’s decision not to approve criminal charges against a VPD constable in the death of Paul Boyd.
As I have from the beginning of this tragic incident, I would like to once again extend our sincere regrets and condolences to the Boyd family for their loss.
No police officer ever comes to work with the intent of taking a life. This incident was difficult and sad for everyone involved.
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