Man dies on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside after interaction with police

A man is dead following a morning confrontation with Vancouver police in the Downtown Eastside.

A worker at a convenience store in the 300-block of East Hastings Street told CBC the man came into the store, grabbed milk and poured it on himself in an apparent attempt to counteract bear spray and moments later was shot by police with a bean bag gun outside the store.

According to a statement from the VPD, the incident began shortly before 8 a.m. Monday after the man was seen acting erratically near East Hastings Street and Dunlevy Avenue. 

"Following an interaction with police, the man was taken into custody. He then went into medical distress and lost consciousness. The man died at the scene despite life-saving attempts," police said in the statement.

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO), B.C.'s civilian-led police oversight agency, has taken over the investigation.

Witness Eve Stabile said the man may have been intoxicated, was naked and behaving in a "bizarre way" when he was shot multiple times.

"He was in and out of stores. He was pouring a jug of milk on his head. His behaviour was eccentric and probably inappropriate, and he was shot," she said. 

According to Kash Heed, former B.C. solicitor general and former West Vancouver chief of police, a bean bag gun is used by police when a situation calls for a non-lethal force option.

"It's meant to stop [the subject], to stun them for that instantaneous second so police officers can consider what options they have available, or to take the individual into custody," said Heed. 

Heed said he had never heard of a bean bag gun directly causing a death.