Inquest calls for more de-escalation training

More de-escalation training for Vancouver police officers is being recommended following a coroner’s inquest into the shooting death of a man who was stabbing people on the city’s Downtown Eastside.

Police say 26-year-old Abdi Hirsi, who was from Edmonton, was killed during a confrontation with an officer in 2015, after Hirsi stabbed three people.

The department said at the time that officers unsuccessfully tried to arrest the man and fired multiple bean bag rounds in an attempt to control him, then shot him when he started to stab a woman who was taken to hospital in critical condition.

In its inquest verdict, the coroner’s jury says the police department should consider better communications training for officers in high-stress situations, and review its existing de-escalation policies.

It recommends mandatory training for officers in the use of at least one less-lethal use-of-force tool beyond what is taught in basic training, and annually reviewing those options.

It also suggests requiring all police vehicles to have cameras and that officers wear body cameras.

The coroner ruled Hirsi died of internal injuries caused by multiple gunshot wounds.

The inquest jury is also recommending that the B.C. Ambulance Service review its policy defining the circumstances in which paramedics may determine “obvious death” and not provide medical interventions.

The jury also notes that the chief coroner should hold inquests within one year of an investigation concluding to ensure accuracy of recollections and closure for families.