Name the victim

Police have extraordinary powers over the rest of us, including the use of deadly force. That is why when police use that force they should be fully accountable. Only then can the public judge whether the killing was justified.

Surprisingly, though, that is not the case in Ontario. Here, the province’s Special Investigations Unit, which oversees deaths involving police, does not even have to make public the name of a person who has been killed.

The SIU’s policy requires consent from the family to do so, even though that policy is contrary to normal police procedures. When someone is killed by anyone other than police, the name is released even when it is against the family’s wishes. That’s important because the release of a name, by itself, can prompt people to come forward with valuable information.

That is how it should be with police killings. No officer who has shot a civilian should be able to hide behind a veil of secrecy, which is what withholding a victim’s name amounts to. The need for transparency should trump any family demands for privacy.

The issue arose again this week after police shot and killed a 42-year-old man along a rail corridor in North Toronto. As the Star’s Wendy Gillis reported, nearly a week after his death “he remains nameless and faceless.” The case is particularly heartrending because it appears that the man may have been homeless and living in a makeshift shelter along the railway.

The policy of not naming victims without family permission, then, is especially perverse in this incident. What if there is no family to be contacted to give permission? Does this man remain forever nameless and faceless? And how can anyone come forward to speak on his behalf if no one is informed of his death?

The current policy is being studied as part of Justice Michael Tulloch’s review of Ontario’s police oversight bodies. But he is not due to report until March 31, 2017.

In the meantime, it remains true that all police shootings require extraordinary oversight. For that to occur, the SIU should release the name of the victim.