Homeless man shot was only making greeting cards? I think not!

Man shot by police used X-Acto knife to make greeting cards: family     By Lori Culbert, Vancouver SunMarch 26, 2009 2:00 PM Michael Vann Hubbard Photograph by: .., Handout photo

METRO VANCOUVER -- The man fatally shot by Vancouver police last week was an artist who used the X-Acto knife he was carrying to make greeting cards for family and friends, his daughter said in a statement.

Michael Vann Hubbard was fatally shot in downtown Vancouver on Friday by police officers pursing a suspect who had broken into a car and stolen a dark backpack. He fit the suspect’s description, and when officers stopped Hubbard he pulled an X-Acto knife from his black backpack.

Hubbard was “an artist and a craftsman. He used that X-acto knife to make greeting cards for his friends and family with his original artwork,” Wendy Hubbard of Illinois wrote.

Her statement was read at a press conference Thursday by David Eby of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, who said the victim’s two daughters are grieving and did not want to speak publically.

Police say Michael Hubbard refused to drop the knife and advanced towards the officers before he was shot. It was not, however, revealed until Tuesday that Hubbard was not the person who had broken into the car, but just resembled the suspect.

“My father was not a thief, a bank robber, nor a drug addict. He was a gentle, law abiding man who believed strongly in social justice and the rights of the poor,” Wendy Hubbard wrote. “He would be proud to be the impetus for change and I am sure that I honor him by pursuing the truth surrounding his death, in the hopes that civilian investigation of the police becomes a reality.”

The shooting is being investigated by an outside agency, the Abbotsford police, but organizations like Pivot and B.C. Civil Liberties have long argued that an independent civilian body should be established to probe incidents involving officers.

At least one witness, Adam Smolcic, says Hubbard was not being aggressive towards police.

Wendy Hubbard retained lawyer Paul Nigol, with Pivot Legal LLP, to investigate the possibility of filing a wrongful death suit against Vancouver police. Nigol is appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

Vancouver police are deferring all questions to Abbotsford police.

Smolcic, the witness, claims he filmed the shooting on his cell phone but an officer at the scene erased the video. The phone is being analyzed by a data-recovery expert.

Eby noted public opinion changed in cases like Robert Dziekanski, who died after being Tasered at the Vancouver airport, and Frank Paul, who was dragged from police holding cells to an alley where he died, after videos was released.

Abbotsford police say two surveillance videos of the incident have been seized. They will be made public only if they do not compromise “any future proceedings,” which presumably includes a trial or inquiry.

Michael Hubbard moved to Vancouver in February 2008 to pursue “a better quality of life,” and at one point lived in the Salvation Army’s Belkin House, which helps people struggling with homelessness. Eby has previously said that relatives told him Hubbard drank alcohol, but was not a drug addict. It is not clear how he ended up on the streets, but he did work for a time at the food bank.

While in Illinois, he was active with socialist events, supported public service radio, repaired things for his family, and helped his grandson build a “propeller car” for a school science project, Wendy Hubbard said.

lculbert@vancouversun.com