Only Paul Boyd will ever know why he laughed and growled like a wild animal as he was shot eight times during a police incident in Vancouver three years ago.
Rennie Hoffman, executive director of the Mood Disorders Association of B.C., said the condition Boyd was in would mean he wouldn't be experiencing "a normal reaction."
"Mr. Boyd would have known what was in his mind at that time, but I wouldn't attempt to explain it," Hoffman told The Province on Tuesday.
An inquest into Boyd's death has heard that he suffered from bipolar disorder and was not taking his medications when he attacked a police officer with a bicycle chain.
Hoffman retired from the Vancouver Police Department with the rank of sergeant in 2003.
"I've been on both sides and I've seen the devastating effects of mental illness, in terms of the criminal justice system," he said.
Once referred to as "manic depression," bipolar disorder is a disease of the brain that causes sufferers to feel an extreme emotional high or excitement -- mania -- at times, and deep depression at other times.
"Most people experience a mania that is pleasurable to them that provides them with a lot of energy or a heightened sense of importance, or enjoyment, or what they can accomplish," said Hoffman.
"Mostly, it is a disease that interferes significantly with your life."
People who have bipolar disorder "can experience all parts of a psychosis," said Hoffman. "They can feel things that aren't there. They hear things that nobody else in the immediate vicinity can hear."
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