MONTREAL - When Montreal police officers shot and killed two men last week, they killed an innocent bystander and a man who had had more than his fair share of difficulty in life.
Yet Mario Hamel was a man who was turning his life around, according to the director of the Old Brewery Mission.
Matthew Pearce says the way the altercation went from Hamel opening garbage bags to being shot and killed is bizarre.
"We don't know what really happened then," said Pearce.
"It could possibly be that the police acted entirely appropriately, but, you know, on the face of it, when you look at the homeless man opening garbage, bags, clearly not threatening anyone, and it accelerates to a point where he ends up losing his life, and an innocent bystander loses his life, it sounds to me that something else could have been done."
Pearce has more experience than most in dealing with police.
As the leader of a shelter he has spent years building relationships with officers, and getting them to recognize the problems that send homeless people to the street.
"We depend on them and I think they depend on us. It works out mutually. How the police deal with individual homeless people is something different," said Pearce.
To watch the rest of the interview with Pearce, click on the video to the right.
