SIU probes shooting by police in Etobicoke
Questions are swirling around the circumstances of a police shooting in Etobicoke on Saturday morning that sent one man to hospital and prompted a probe by the province’s Special Investigation Unit.
Police responded to a report of a man breaking into cars on Epping St., near Islington Ave. and The Westway, shortly after 7:30 a.m., according to the SIU. There was an “interaction” between officers and the man, 28, before he was shot, the SIU said in a news release.
Man, 28, is in hospital after neighbours were awakened by the sounds of gunfire — and screams of ‘I don’t want to die’
The man was taken to Sunnybrook hospital in stable, but serious condition, according to Toronto EMS. His name has not yet been released, but one witness said the man appeared to be barefoot.
The incident comes in the wake of public outcry over the police shooting death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim, and days before an inquest begins into the deaths of three GTA residents who may have been in a mental-health crisis when they were fatally shot by police.
Police said they could not comment on Saturday’s shooting because the SIU is investigating. It is standard practice for police to defer questions to the SIU once the police watchdog, which probes incidents involving police that have resulted in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault, has invoked its mandate.
Toronto lawyer Selwyn Pieters, who has represented both police and family members of victims of police shootings, said the public has a “right to know” about what prompted the use of firearms in this case.
“It’s important to know the nature of the interaction — what weapon the person had, what was the per- son’s mental state, what commands the police issued,” he said. “If the man was breaking into cars, it’s simply a property crime. Why did the police not contain the area, and use some means to take him into custody without using force?”
Shortly after the shooting, a white sedan with a broken passenger window could be seen in a driveway. A metal baton, a rubber tipped mallet and shell casings were on the ground nearby. There was a bloodstain on the sidewalk.
Kelly Morgan, 22, who lives with her parents across the street from where the shooting occurred, said she woke just after 7 a.m. to what sounded like a heated argument. About 20 minutes later, she heard two gun shots, followed by yelling.
“We could hear him screaming, the guy who was shot,” she said. “He was saying, ‘I don’t want to die.’ He was obviously in a lot of pain.”
After the shots were fired, another neighbour, Mark Carnevale, saw a man, who he described as white with short, light brown hair, lying on the ground, squirming around, while being restrained by police. Carnevale said the man was not wearing shoes or socks and had “just filthy, filthy feet.” “Obviously, he had been without shoes for a while,” Carnevale said. At the scene on Saturday afternoon, SIU investigator Frank Phillips said he could not confirm whether the man was carrying an object before he was shot, but said “that’s something we’re looking into.” “That’s why we have the forensic (identification) people here doing that stuff,” he said. “It’s ongoing. It’s fairly new . . . I have no idea what caused this. That’s why we’re here.” Asked about the man’s mental state, official SIU spokeswoman Monica Hudon said she could not comment “because it is an ongoing investigation.” Hudon said the SIU would release the man’s name if permission is granted by the man or his family. Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, and a vocal critic of police for Yatim’s death, said he was “stunned” to hear about Saturday’s police shooting. “Have Toronto police learned nothing from the Sammy Yatim shooting? Why aren’t they working with the crisis intervention teams and asking them to de-escalate the situation?” Ryan asked. “It just blows me away.” Yatim, who was wielding a small knife, was hit by eight bullets and Tasered in an empty streetcar by police in late July. Ryan said police are “in desperate need of proper training from top to bottom.” Following Yatim’s death, Ontario’s ombudsman launched an investigation into police policies for de-escalating situations that could turn violent. At a news conference in August, Ombudsman André Marin said the police shootings over the past two decades and the recommendations they prompted were “like Groundhog Day.” “Inquest after inquest, police shooting after police shooting,” Marin said. “What’s happened to all these recommendations in 20 years? Have they been gathering dust in some bin somewhere?” Also in August, amid the outcry surrounding the Yatim shooting, Community Safety Minister Madeleine Meilleur announced the province will allow all front-line officers to carry Tasers. Following the announcement, Toronto’s deputy police chief Michael Federico told the Star, “I think it is a decision that can save lives.” With files from Star staff