The provincial ombudsman has launched an investigation into police de-escalation training following the death of Sammy Yatim.
Video of a Toronto Police Services officer killing the knife-wielding 18-year-old on an empty streetcar two weeks ago has prompted public outcry and demands for changes to police policy.
On Thursday, ombudsman André Marin announced that in light of the shooting, his office will review the de-escalation guidelines given to forces across the province by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. The investigation could result in recommendations for new provincial guidelines around how police should act in standoffs like the one in which Yatim died.
“While the facts of the police shooting of Sammy Yatim remain under investigation and are yet to be determined, the very public nature of this case has also raised important questions about broader issues,” Marin said in a written statement he delivered at Queen’s Park. “These issues are ideal for an ombudsman investigation.”
Marin said that the probe, which will take between six to 12 months to complete, will look at de-escalation techniques from “day one of training” and will be broad enough to consider topics like the use of tasers and mental health issues.
Marin told reporters that since Yatim’s slaying, he had reviewed the results of inquests into police shootings going back 20 years and found that they resulted in similar recommendations, seemingly without result.
“It seems to be like Groundhog Day. Inquest after inquest, police shooting after police shooting,” Marin said.
Following Marin’s press conference, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Madeleine Meuiller issued a statement in which she said the ministry would “cooperate fully” with his investigation.
“My ministry takes use of force training for police officers very seriously,” she said, adding that all Ontario officers receive use of force training as recruits and on an annual basis once they join a police service.
Yatim’s death is already the subject of a probe by the Special Investigations Unit, the provincial watchdog that investigates any police action that results in the serious injury or death of a member of the public. Marin stressed that his office’s investigation will not interfere with the SIU’s work.
A spokesperson for the unit says the two parallel investigations will not hinder each other because the SIU is limited to examining the actions of the officer who shot Yatim. He has been identified as James Forcillo, a six-year veteran of the force.
“The ombudsman is looking into something completely different from what we’re looking into,” says the SIU’s Monica Hudon. “The SIU investigation will determine whether there are reasonable grounds to lay a criminal charge against the officer, whereas the ombudsman’s investigation is looking into the direction that’s provided by the government to police when it comes to de-escalation.”
“We’re looking at two completely different things. There’s no interference, they’re both completely independent,” she says.
This is the first time that the ombudsman’s office has been involved in a police shooting, according to Marin. Since Yatim was killed, the office has received more than 60 “complaints, inquiries and submissions” about the case, he said.
His office is asking anyone with information about Yatim’s death to get in touch.
