'One of the best people I've ever met' — Friend of woman fatally shot by police speaks out

A close friend of the woman who was fatally shot by police Wednesday said she had a years-long battle with mental health and addiction, and had been seeking care in the months leading up to the incident.

The deceased woman, whom she only identified as Amanda, was someone who “would give someone the shirt off of her back,” though she had been through many hardships in her 36 years.

“She’d gone through a lot, but that doesn’t mean that Amanda wasn’t one of the best people I’ve ever met,” said Megan, who had been friends with Amanda for the last 11 years.

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The two had met while attending the same post-secondary program in 2015, and throughout that time, Amanda had struggled with her mental health, had spoken of suicide and, despite being sober for an eight-year stint, had an off-and-on struggle with substances, Megan said.

Her struggle with addiction, like most, was tied to her mental health and trauma she had suffered throughout her life. She had watched family members struggle with addiction as well, and had lost most of her immediate family.

She was a paraplegic, and had one leg amputated as a child. She was also the single mother of a small child.

Megan had first met Amanda after seeing her struggle with her backpack. Noticing others making fun of her, Megan grabbed the backpack to help.

“I told the rest of the class that they should be ashamed of themselves, and since then we were friends,” she said. “ I don’t believe in judging people by their appearance or their past. Good people are good people, and they can show up anywhere.”

“She was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my entire life,” she said. “You know how everybody else has filters? Amanda did not have a filter.”

Leading up to Wednesday’s shooting, she said, Amanda had been struggling more than usual.

“We were trying to get her in a hospital. She had just had a visit with her PACT (Police and Crisis Team) worker, and we were trying to get her into detox, but the waiting list for detox-combination mental health and addiction stuff is so long,” Megan said.

“ She was doing really well when she was in a group home, like a sober living place. But apparently, a lot of those places have expiry dates,” she said. “W hen you have somebody who struggles severely with mobility and depression, moving them out where they’re all by themselves and isolated was basically her undoing.”