Questions still begging for answers
The laying of murder charges against the officer who shot Sammy Yatim leaves many unanswered questions and rekindles unresolved debates. These are some of them: Was an Emergency Task Force (ETF) or a Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT) ever called to the scene early on July 27?
No officials have commented on whether a specially trained police task force or health team trained to assist with mentally disturbed persons was ever called to the Dundas streetcar where Yatim was shot. Bystander videos are inconclusive about how many minutes passed between the arrival of police and the shooting.
EMS said paramedics responded in less than six minutes. Regardless, none of the city’s MCITs would have been on shift during the crisis, which started just after midnight. Why was a Taser used after shots were fired?
It’s still not clear why a supervisor used a Taser on Yatim even after he had been felled by gunfire. In one video, someone can still be heard yelling for Yatim to drop the knife just before the sound of the Taser is heard. Experts in police training said it is possible Yatim was still clutching the knife and posed a threat to officers. The SIU have said they are not investigating the officer who Tasered Yatim. What is Yatim’s official cause of death?
Information on the cause of death and how many shots hit him has not been released. The SIU has said it won’t release that information to the public. The results are likely to be disclosed during criminal proceedings. Should all front-line officers have access to Tasers?
Yatim’s shooting has reignited that debate. Currently only supervisors, or sergeants, are legally allowed to carry Tasers. Chief Bill Blair has previously called for a change in legislation to allow others to do so, backed by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and the federal association for police chiefs.
Mental health experts and others critical of police tactics and use of Tasers say officers should rather be better trained to de-escalate volatile situations without weapons. Do police receive appropriate training to deal with emotionally disturbed persons?
Police receive two days of mandatory use-of-force training annually, which includes de-escalation strategies when dealing with emotionally disturbed persons. Critics say nothing has changed in past decades, as shooting deaths of mentally ill persons armed with blades continue.
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin has announced a probe of use-of-force guidelines and Chief Bill Blair has appointed retired Ontario associate chief justice Dennis O’Connor to examine the force’s use-of-force policy and procedures involving emotionally disturbed persons.