An RCMP officer has been killed while on duty in the Metro Vancouver suburb of Burnaby.
BC Force Deputy Commissioner Const. Shaelyn Yang died Tuesday morning after being fatally stabbed during an altercation.
“She was a loving wife, sister and daughter,” Assistant Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told reporters at a hastily called news conference.
“Those he worked with before joining the RCMP and his police colleagues described Const. Yang as a kind and compassionate person, which makes his death even harder to accept. .. Their loss is immeasurable.”
Yang had been a member of the RCMP for just three years. He was a member of the Burnaby Detachment Mental Health and Homelessness Team.
According to police, he was accompanying a member of the city’s parks department to a call about a tent in a park when the altercation occurred.
The voice of the head of the Burnaby detachment broke as he spoke.
“I’m standing here today talking about the impact, the death of one of our members is probably the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with in my entire career,” said Chief Supt. Graham De La Gorgendiere said.
“She was compassionate and caring and she brought these skills every day to her work working with the most vulnerable communities, including those with mental health issues.
“The next few hours, weeks and months will be difficult.”
Provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth confirmed the officer’s death Tuesday in a brief, solemn statement that offered his condolences to the officer’s loved ones and colleagues in a brief statement.
“This is absolutely a tragic and horrific situation,” the minister said, speaking to reporters at the BC Legislature.
“Right now, my heart goes out to the family and the friends and the officers and the police departments in Burnaby and this province. [who]”Every day, they put their lives on the line to keep us all safe in our communities.”
The BC RCMP Deputy Commissioner and Burnaby Detachment Chief are expected to make a public statement about the officer’s death at 4:30pm PT.
Warren Mercier lives in the area where a Burnaby RCMP officer was killed in the line of duty. He said he saw the officer lying on the ground. (Georgina Smyth/CBC)
Farnworth’s announcement came after an incident at Broadview Park on Canada Way on Tuesday morning.
Dozens of officers from multiple police agencies arrived at the scene, and the RCMP asked the public to avoid Canada Way between Boundary Road and Willingdon Avenue, both major thoroughfares, while they investigated.
Reports began circulating on social media that the incident occurred when police and law enforcement officers were responding to a call about a homeless encampment.
But Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley told CBC’s On The Coast he believed there was only one tent and the city employee was part of a parks department team working to relocate people from tents to shelters.
“Everybody is devastated and it’s a very sad day for our city,” Hurley said.
Warren Mercier, who lives nearby, said he was waiting to cross the road when he saw an officer running and heard a noise that “sounded like a Taser.”
“I saw an officer and a man on the ground. She wasn’t moving,” Mercier said.
“There was another man who was helping him. And after the police showed up, he was very confused.”
RCMP officers are seen responding to a call at Broadview Park on Canada Way on Tuesday. The public has been asked to avoid the area. (Shane MacKitchan)
Mercier said he has seen one tent in a park near the area and another in nearby woods. But he said there have never been any problems.
“I’ve been watching for a month,” he said. “No people coming in and out, nothing. Just a tent.”
Carol-Ann Flanagan, director of outreach for End Homelessness in Burnaby, said she learned of the incident through the media and was not aware of a homeless encampment in the area.
He said the RCMP has a dedicated team of officers who specialize in mental health and homelessness issues.
“The homeless people that we work with that live in the camps, for the most part, are not violent people, and so that’s not the norm,” Flanagan said.
“I am so sorry for the officer, his co-workers and his family. My heart is broken for everyone right now.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet that he was “incredibly saddened” to learn of the officer’s killing.
“My thoughts are with the fallen officer’s family, friends and colleagues. I keep you in my thoughts during this terrible time,” he said.
“Federal Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said he was devastated by the news of the officer’s loss in the line of duty.
“At this difficult time, my heart goes out to the family and friends of the deceased officer and the entire Burnaby RCMPD department,” he said in a tweet.
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer also sent out a tweet expressing his department’s condolences for the “tragic murder” of the Burnaby RCMP officer.
The incident comes at a critical time in the public debate about the growing number of homeless people in BC communities and the concern of mayors like Hurley about the violence associated with mental illness and addiction.
The provincial government recently commissioned a report on prolific criminals following a petition for action signed by mayors from communities across BC.
“There’s always been homeless people living in our wooded areas and in our parks, but I think it’s become much more prevalent now, and I’d say it’s even become much more violent than it used to be.” , Hurley said.
“We need to find real solutions instead of band-aid solutions.”
BC’s Office of Independent Investigations, which reviews all police actions that resulted in death or serious injury, confirmed that its investigators were also at the scene of the incident.