By Sean Condon
The killing of a homeless man by a Vancouver police officer two weeks ago has not only sparked concerns about whether the police overreacted and whether they should be investigating themselves, but also about how the police treat homeless people.
On the morning of March 13th, two police officers stopped 58-year-old Michael vann Hubbard on the 500-block of Homer Street because they believed he was a suspect in a nearby auto break-in. When vann Hubbard took an X-Acto knife out of his bag, one of the officers shot and killed him.
While the Vancouver Police Department claims vann Hubbard advanced on the officers with the knife, reported eyewitness accounts say he was standing still. The Abbotsford Police Department, which is in charge of supervising the VPD’s investigation, have confirmed that vann Hubbard did not, in fact, commit the theft in question.
Aside from concerns over whether the police used the appropriate force, the death has also raised questions from vann Hubbard’s family and legal advocates regarding how Vancouver police officers profile homeless people.
“My father was not a thief, a bank robber, nor a drug addict,” said Wendy Hubbard in a written statement. “He was a gentle, law abiding man who believed strongly in social justice and the rights of the poor and discarded people of our world… He used that X-acto knife to make greeting cards for his friends and family with his original artwork.”
Although he had been staying at the Salvation Army’s downtown Belkin House last summer, it is believed that vann Hubbard was living on the street at the time of his death. It has been reported that the Vancouver police thought vann Hubbard was a suspect because they believed his black knapsack was stolen from a car on the 700-block of Granville.
However, David Eby, the acting executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), said the police could have stopped dozens of white men with black knapsacks between Granville and Homer, but targeted vann Hubbard because they thought he was homeless, and thus guilty.
“The fact that the police officers picked him out as a potential car thief as opposed to all the people with black bags who were walking around nearby this guy indicates how the police still view homeless people as criminals,” he said in a phone interview.
A request for an interview with the VPD was not returned.
There have been a number of high-profile cases over the past decade in which Vancouver police officers have been accused of profiling homeless and low-income people and then using unnecessary force.
In 2002, the Pivot Legal Society collected 50 affidavits from Downtown Eastside residents who claimed police officers beat and tortured them, unlawfully detained them, and performed illegal strip searches.
On Boxing Day 2004, two rookie police officers stopped 29-year-old Gerald Chenery in a Downtown Eastside alley. It turned out Chenery had an outstanding warrant and when the police officers tried to arrest him, the situation quickly escalated. Chenery pulled out two knifes and was shot 12 times. Like vann Hubbard’s case, the police claimed Chenery charged one of the officers, while eyewitness accounts and expert testimony disputed that claim.
Eby said that Chenery should not have been stopped in the first place, and was targeted because he looked poor.
“This kind of profiling happens all the time,” said Eby. “Being jacked-up and street-checked happens to homeless people in a very different way than it happens to everyone else… This kind of policy has got to stop.”
Vann Hubbard’s family is now suing the VPD and the City of Vancouver for wrongful death and is looking for information from anyone who knew their father. If you knew Michael vann Hubbard, please contact the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association at bccla.org.
