A man shot and killed by Vancouver police had been bipolar for almost 20 years, and could have been suffering from mania and depression at the time of his death on Aug. 13, his family said Monday

Paul Boyd's family released a statement through Vancouver police on Monday.
(Courtesy of the Boyd family)

Paul Boyd's parents and brother issued a statement through the Vancouver Police Department on Monday, describing Boyd, 39, as a "big, strong man whose appearance could be intimidating to those who did not know him."

Boyd, who was also "gentle and kind," was "diagnosed with bipolar disorder — manic depression — an illness for which he has received constant and usually effective treatment" since his early 20s, but he was well most of the time, the statement said.

"Periodically, he would suffer periods of mania and depression which could produce vivid paranoid delusions that made him fear imagined threats," the statement said.

"At the time of his death, he was in the midst of one of these frightening episodes," it said.

However, the family's statement did not address the police shooting.

'At the time of his death, he was in the midst of one of these frightening episodes.'— Statement from Paul Boyd's family

Boyd was a gifted animator who worked in Vancouver's animation industry for 15 years, including directing the highly successful Ed, Edd N Eddy series on the Cartoon Network.

Boyd was shot during the evening of Aug. 13 near Granville Street and 16th Avenue after police said he began assaulting officers, who were responding to a 911 call, with a potentially lethal weapon.

Police said Boyd began assaulting two officers when a third officer, who's been in the force for three years, fired at him in self-defence.

More witnesses to be interviewed

Two witnesses have told CBC News slightly different versions of the event.

Christine Adkins said she did not see the alleged assaults but saw the man attempting to flee when police fired at him in the middle of traffic. Jonathan Menzies compared the man's death to an execution.

Police have heard someone may have videotaped the shooting or the moments leading up to Paul Boyd's death, but so far they haven't seen the tape, Const. Howard Chow said.

Besides the dozens of witnesses statements, investigators still have more than 20 witnesses to interview and police don't want to taint the statements by discussing details of the shooting, Chow said.

"As you can see, there [are] still many witnesses that will be coming forward, and we'd rather that they had the opportunity to talk to our investigators before reading, or hearing about it on the television," Chow said.