Burnaby man who died in police interaction remembered as charming and kind

Community members in North Burnaby are remembering a man who died after a police interaction in Kensington Plaza last month as a charming, funny man who had struggled with mental illness and alcohol addiction.

Neighbours say Calvin Goertzen, who was often seen sitting outside the Shoppers Drug Mart and usually slept just across the street in Kensington Park, had a kind word for everyone who passed by—and often tried to help them with what little he had.

Goertzen died after an incident on the morning of Dec. 16, 2022. BC RCMP said police were called to the area by paramedics regarding an overdosing man who had gotten into an altercation with an employee at a nearby business.

RCMP said while he was being apprehended, he began to show signs of medical distress and could not be revived.

The Independent Investigations Office is looking into the case to determine whether police action or inaction contributed to Goertzen’s death.

Goertzen’s friend, Harinder Parmar, said the Indigenous man had just moved to Burnaby from Manitoba last August.

Goertzen told them he had experienced a lot of trauma in his childhood—experiencing physical and sexual abuse at an Indian Day School, being put in foster care away from his parents, and later being adopted by a non-Indigenous family.

“He said his sister and family couldn’t handle the ‘BS’ of his alcoholism (his words), so had cut off ties with him. He missed them and wanted to reconnect. He had ADHD, was bipolar, and had always struggled to manage his money,” Parmar said.

“When he was young, he had worked in a Sears warehouse driving a forklift and moving pallets around—something he enjoyed—but he lost that job due to alcohol [addiction], couldn’t pay his rent, and eventually became homeless.”

She would often see him sitting outside the Shoppers Drug Mart and say hello, but didn’t have any deeper interactions with him until September. One day, she saw him crying—a contrast from his usual happy demeanour—and stopped to ask what happened.

“His bedding had been taken. And so he was cold, sick and, and really upset that that had happened… He didn’t understand why people treated him like garbage—he was like, ‘I’m not bothering anybody’, and so it was sad,” Parmar told the Beacon.

Parmar and her husband decided to bring Goertzen some blankets to help him stay warm, and from there they began to get to know him better.

But the loss of his possessions would become a recurring problem for Goertzen, Parmar said. They, along with other community members, would bring Goertzen new bedding, new tarps, a new sleeping bag, and he would be beaming with joy—but a few days later, it would be taken away from the tree he stashed it in at Kensington Park.

Parmar told the Beacon that city staff were the ones taking Goertzen’s things away, and that she got on the phone with everyone from parks and recreation to the mayor’s office asking them to stop.

“It’s upsetting because it’s a city that’s saying that we’re all about Truth and Reconciliation… Truth and Reconciliation would be not going up the tree and taking his stuff and throwing it in the garbage every day,” Parmar said.

“We have all these people who are cold and in need—and even not donating it somewhere, but it’s getting thrown in the garbage. That’s kind of appalling from an environmental and social justice place as well.”

Burnaby Beacon reached out to the City of Burnaby to inquire about the circumstances surrounding Goertzen’s possessions, along with the city’s policies on clearing tents and other items from city parks. We did not receive a response by deadline.

Parmar believes that the repeated loss of his possessions led Goertzen deeper into depression and addiction, landing him in hospital on at least one occasion.

She said an incident at a shelter in Burnaby where Goertzen got sick also led him to decide he’d be safer sleeping in the park and spending his days near the businesses in Kensington Plaza.

He got to know many people in the area—helping others in the process. Parmar recounted one incident where he helped a teenage girl through her own mental issues, and another where he gave someone $20 despite not having a lot of money himself.

Parmar said she didn’t want to focus on how Goertzen died, but rather the legacy he left on the neighbourhood. She organized a memorial to honour him last weekend where dozens of people who knew him gathered to share their memories. The teen girl he had helped came to drop off a small stuffed animal at the tree where he slept.

“I hope Calvin’s legacy is [that] he showed us how, in just a few months, if you are open, friendly, and kind, you can create many connections and a community. Don’t judge people by their appearance or circumstances,” she told the Beacon.

“While he was a large man with tattoos who struggled with addiction and mental health, once you spoke to him, you saw he was also kind, funny, generous, playful and mischievous, sensitive, and had many talents. He loved kids, music, reading, dancing, hockey, and working with heavy equipment. He was spiritual and prayed in Cree to the Creator to give him strength. His life was difficult.”