No charges approved in death of Surrey filmmaker and anti-gang advocate Mani Amar

B.C. Crown prosecutors have elected not to press any charges in the death of anti-gang advocate and filmmaker Manbir (Mani) Amar.

Amar was fatally injured on Aug. 31, 2022, in what Surrey RCMP at the time described as “a physical altercation between two neighbours.”

Police arrested one person at the scene.

“This was an isolated incident between two neighbours,” Integrated Homicide Investigation Team Sgt. Timothy Pierotti said at the time. “Tragically this situation escalated to a point where a life was taken.”

In an email to Global News Monday, BC Prosecution spokesperson Dan McLaughlin said the Crown determined the case didn’t meet the standard for charge assessment.

“The BC prosecution Service can confirm that, after carefully reviewing of all the investigative materials submitted by IHIT investigators, no charges were approved in the case,” he said.

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When conducting charge assessment, prosecutors must weigh both whether the case has a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether it is in the public interest, he said.

“In determining whether this test is satisfied, Crown Counsel must consider what material evidence is likely to be admissible and available at a trial; the objective reliability of the admissible evidence; and whether there are viable defences, or other legal or constitutional impediments to the prosecution, that remove any substantial likelihood of a conviction,” he added.

Amar, a 40-year-old father of three, had produced several documentaries and short films focusing on guns and gangs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

He also organized a candlelight peace march in 2015 at the height of a wave of gang violence.