VANCOUVER — A man has died after North Vancouver RCMP officers fired shots and deployed a conducted energy weapon during a confrontation at Westview Plaza on Tuesday afternoon, police said..According to a statement from North Vancouver RCMP, officers responded just after 1:12 p.m. to reports of a man armed with an "edged weapon" threatening members of the public inside a business at the plaza in the 2600-block of Westview Drive.The suspect left the business, entered a vehicle in the parking lot and collided with multiple parked vehicles. He then exited that vehicle at a gas station in the plaza.That’s when video now circulating on social media shows what happened next..The video begins with a female officer, weapon drawn, ordering the suspect to get on the ground. The man casually ignores the command, continues walking, takes a sip from a drink, then opens the driver’s door of an RCMP cruiser, partially shielding himself as a conducted energy weapon is deployed, before climbing inside.A male officer, also with his firearm drawn, steps in and demands the man — now seated in the driver’s seat with the door open — drop the weapon. The same officer then fires three shots in rapid succession.Moments later, another officer can be heard directing members of the public: “Guys, out of the area now. Out of the area now. Get back, get back.”An officer is then heard repeatedly ordering the suspect to “drop the knife” as the man remains seated and still responsive. He recoils with an audible groaning reaction before another conducted energy weapon is deployed and he is pulled face-first onto the pavement.Officers can then be seen searching and handcuffing the man while he remains stomach-down on the pavement..The aforementioned statement notes the suspect died later of his injuries and that his death will be investigated. No additional details were provided about the suspect.The IIO BC investigates all incidents in British Columbia involving serious harm or death that may have resulted from the actions of a police officer.The same office’s most recent annual report recorded 12 firearm-related investigations in the 2024-25 fiscal year, down from 16 the year before but still above the longer-term average of roughly seven per year.
