VANCOUVER - A Vancouver police officer who shot a mentally ill man eight times says he thought the man was wearing body armour.
Const. Lee Chipperfield testified before a coroner's inquest jury that the final shot was the only one that had any impact on Paul Boyd, who died three years ago.
He told the inquest Boyd kept getting back on his feet and moving towards Chipperfield and other officers waving a metal chain until the eighth shot was fired.
The inquest was told earlier that Boyd, who was bipolar, had been having hallucinations before his fatal encounter with police the night of Aug. 13, 2007.
The officers had been dispatched to an assault call and Chipperfield testified he had no idea Boyd was mentally ill.
He also said he was not armed with a Taser the night of the encounter.
